Education in the United States has been in crisis for many years. Thirty years ago, the United States was the leader at every level of education, from elementary school all the way up to the collegiate level. Not so anymore. Countries other than ours have taken the lead when it comes to educating their young people. America has had to think of ways to increase the level of education for its youth. One way to achieve this was the introduction of charter schools.
Public schools in America, for numerous reasons, have failed their students. In many large cities, there is a complete lack of educational functionality. This holds true for most inner city schools and even suburban schools. There is a lack of discipline, focus and academic rigor. These problems infect and prevent students from learning at mastery level. Charter schools now populate the country as an alternative to public schools that have consistently failed students, parents, and teachers.
Charter schools are unique public schools that are afforded the flexibility to be more innovative in their methods of instruction, while still being held accountable for students' achievement in the classroom. That is the main difference between charter schools and public schools. Like public schools, they are open to all children and do not charge tuition. And, like public schools, they do not have any special requirements for a student to be enrolled. They were created to help the public school system and offer parents an alternative to traditional public education.
New ways of teaching
Charter schools are more innovative than public schools. They provide newer methods in addition to traditional methods that motivate students to learn at higher levels. Another method some charter schools use to improve education is the use a longer school day. This allows for more instruction that would otherwise not occur.
Smaller schools allow for smaller class sizes
Charter schools are significantly smaller than public schools. This reduction in student population creates a smaller classroom environment. A smaller class size means that there is more individualized attention for students, more one-on-one time between student and educator. By allowing students to have greater access to their teachers for longer periods of time, you are increasing their ability to learn and increasing their retention of subject matter.
Competition between students is encouraged
Unlike public schools, whose general aim is to get students through and on to the next level, charter schools encourage competition between students. This makes what would normally be an average day in a public school a truly dynamic and engaging one for students in a charter school. It's just another way for students to take ownership of their educational experience.
Choices
Public schools are limited in their educational offerings for students. There simply, in most cases, are just too many students. Therefore they are limited in what they are able to offer since the faculty/student ratio is just too high. They are tremendously understaffed. Charter schools are able to solve this problem with the low faculty/student ratio. Since this ratio is much lower, students have more choices in what they are able to study.
Charter schools exist to provide an alternative to public education. They can be viewed as a public school in a private school setting. They are able to commit more focus to academics and provide more attention to each student.