...but there are some Democrats who support charter schools and other efforts to break the government school monopoly.
Charter schools aren't necessarily the answer. The school I complained about in my geometry/small vent thread is a charter school.
In California (other states too?), charter schools have
no oversight. I've written about how terrible the math instruction is at DS's school (and it advertises itself as specializing in math and science, no less). Plus, so far this year, they've sent letters home twice requiring "donations" of cash or goods. These donations are "homework assignments," and if you don't donate, your child's grade suffers in one class (if you don't believe me, PM me and I'll email you proof). The school's charter promises x school days and y hours of instruction, and it falls way short on both counts. But no one can step in and say, "Fix this" because no one has direct supervisory authority. The superintendent can revoke the charter, but this pretty extreme and I expect it isn't easy. And to be honest, I'm not sure that he cares.
Charter schools basically get instant tenure. So if you think that a tenured poor teacher is bad, try a tenured poor school.
