Enjoyably absurd comment about BASIS charters

by David Safier

I wrote a post yesterday about a quote from Michael Block, the man who started BASIS charter schools. Block said,

"I would privatize the entire government school system."

"Ccusd Watch" left a comment pointing out what a hypocrite I am because, while I criticized BASIS for educating top students, TUSD's University High has an even more rigorous screening policy.

Exactly, "Ccusd Watch." BASIS and University High are both examples of schools which select out the top students. Neither is representative of Arizona education, and neither can "old man" other schools about the way students should be taught. Teaching the most talented and motivated students is a whole different world from teaching the rest of the students. Michael Block should know that and have enough humility not to pretend to have the answers. But humility is not one of his strong suits. He knows how it's done. High standards! That's all it takes.

Take it from this old traditional public school English teacher. Until Block moves from educating the 1% to educating the 99%, he doesn't know much about education.

A story: I taught high school English classes made up of the top students as well as classes with "regular" students.

One day, one of my top students came into one of my "regular" classes to deliver a note. She stood politely at the door until I was through with what I was teaching — she had an odd expression on her face I didn't recognize — then she came up, handed me the note (some student had a phone message from a parent) and left.

Later that day when she walked into her class, she came up to me and said, sounding somewhat amazed, "You're really different in that class than you are in here!" She was right. I was the same guy, but in many ways I was two different teachers.

Comparatively, teaching the top kids is a dream job. I could assume they were capable and motivated. They mostly did the work they were assigned and they participated in class discussions with little prodding. If you're a good teacher, those students will do just fine.

Not so with "regular" students. In those classes I had to be a song and dance man if I wanted results. I pulled out all the stops as I sought out the reluctant student within, doing my damndest to elicit interest, spur the students to pay attention, encourage them to participate willingly in class, and hope they went home and did the work I assigned. Like that student from one of my top classes said, I was a different teacher in there. I had to be if I wanted to be successful.

"Ccusd Watch" said BASIS is starting a school in D.C., which is true, and he said this will be a true test of the school, since D.C. is "the worst district in the United States." The test for me will be the type of students BASIS caters to. If it attempts to educate a cross section of the student population, I'll be very interested in the results. But if it just creams off the best and most motivated students, the D.C. school will be nothing more than another franchise of the Arizona charters, teaching the same students in a different location.