Charter schools are ‘pigs’, says professor

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Charter schools are ‘pigs’, says professor

3News NZ

Peter O'Connor says that charter schools will not benefit students

Peter O'Connor says that charter schools will not benefit students

The proposed charter schools are already causing controversy, with one academic condemning them as being “pigs”.

The charter schools will be known as partnership schools, but Professor Peter O’Connor of the University of Auckland says that makes no difference to how they will function.

“It’s a rebranding exercise. You can call it what you like, but a lot of people yesterday were saying you can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig, and charter schools are still pigs,” he says.

Mr O’Connor says there is evidence to show that charter schools are ineffective.

“Internationally we know they really don’t make the difference in terms of the student achievement that the minister and the prime minister have talked about, they’re really about private companies taking control of publicly owned assets, it’s as simple as that really.”

Watch the video for Firstline’s interview with Peter O’Connor

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Comments

5/08/2012 6:01:21 p.m.

Megan wrote:

The manufactured crisis in education that is being espoused by proponents of Charter Schools masks their own spurious agenda. The reality is that, public education attracts significant tax payer funding, and provides the likes of the Ballet Academy and Destiny Church, an opportunity to capture a piece of that dollar pie. Advocates of Charter Schools care little about achievement, but see an opportunity to siphon off profits, from gullible parent communities who are led to believe there is something inherently wrong with their local state school. Once enrolled, they will be confronted with a workforce that is employed as cheaply as possible, including untrained teachers. These schools won’t operate zero budgets, where each year the dollars in are spent on the students attending. Instead, the balance sheets will factor in shareholder returns. The best choice must rest in quality public education, not fringe money grabbers who want to grab profits over the interests of children and their communities.

4/08/2012 12:59:23 p.m.

Chris wrote:

Charter schools indeed are run for the wrong reasons not for the betterment of the people but for the betterment of interest groups like business and religion. It would be nice if these people stuck to their own business ( making money for shareholders and corrupting minds ) and leave education to the professionals that only have the best interest of students in mind. We don't need sausage factory like schools producing numb brained units for the consumer society.

3/08/2012 10:01:17 a.m.

David wrote:

@Mike... business roundtable mouthpiece... paid to give us a "national Party" opinion. LOL do some work and stop skiving off... oh wait your job consists of spreading National Party propaganda all day long. Here s alittle reality for you Alien... Ooops Lightseed... Ooops Mouthguard... wait I keep losing track of the nut job names you use. New Zealands school system before Nationals interference was rated second best in the world. Charter schools have failed in nearly every country they have been used. There is a disproportionate amount of favourtism given by these schools to pupils that cost them less while those who require more intensive care are ignored and continue to fail. Mike wants to invite the paedophiles back into the school system, wants to make your kids unsafe. Thats the crux of his whole argument.

3/08/2012 9:41:07 a.m.

Mike wrote:

Seams its more about the name calling than about charter schools.

There has always been some unqualified teachers in private schools. Take any private school that also teaches religion, the teaching of religion will almost always be by some person within that religion who has no NZ teaching qualification to teach the subject.

The charter schools give a opportunity for more flexibility to private schools while with national standards it will keep an eye on them to perform.

Many people teach/train, and if you can train sucessfully, that ability will often transfer to trainig something else - even if no formal qualification. If combined with a national standard to check for quality, it could work. For the individual charter schools, they could do a police check on all staff, even require higher standards than NZ teaching to be drug free, crime free.

Christchurch has shown post-quake that sharing resources works, and the charter will allow this to opporate better and even for it to be extended outside Christchurch.

But those Labour faithful in our education do not want any accountability, nor better use of resources, hence the name calling like above vs discuss any part of any policy.

Imagine if NZ had no national standards in food saftey? Well we have no similar standards in education as teachers think it would poorly reflect on them. Its like protesting against food saftey standards by the dirtiest food sellers/handlers around as they might be held accountable with any national standards!