Kelly Munn, Casual Stereotyper

From an email that I received a bit ago from the League of Education Voters, signed by their field director Kelly Munn:

We have to use every resource possible to give all of our kids the education and opportunities they deserve. High-performing public charter schools are helping these kids in 41 other states. Only Washington, Kentucky, Alabama and a handful of others don't give parents this valuable education option.

It's no accident that Ms. Munn chose those two states to compare Washington to, because she wants you to get a very specific image in your mind when she brings up Kentucky and Alabama:

Other states that don't have charter laws? North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Montana, Nebraska, and Maine. The two examples that Kelly went with are the only two states in the south that don't have charter school laws, and we can either attribute that to a 2-in-56 chance that she picked those two at random, or she picked those two purposefully to move a part of the LEV agenda forward because Lord knows we wouldn't want to be like those folks.

Read more here, if any.

A Quick Thought Upon Watching Several Episodes of Beyond Scared Straight

All those kids need is a Charter school, then everything will be OK!

Read more here, if any.

From the "We Shan't Overcome" Beat

"Sit-ins in state lawmakers’ offices, which activists had planned to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day and protest budget cuts, have been canceled because of the snowy, icy weather."

Read more here, if any.

Everything Comes From Somewhere

One of the dumber arguments that people try is the whole "Teachers unions are funded by taxpayer's dollars!" canard, which you can see on display here at Education Next.

Just don't do it.

Read more here, if any.

I'm Sure It's Just a Coincidence

A particular line from the charter schools bill that was introduced to the Washington State legislature yesterday, related to an extension of the time that it would take a charter to start serving students:

"The authorizer may grant or deny the extension depending on the school's circumstances."

From the charter school law in Maine:

The authorizer may grant or deny the extension depending on the particular public charter school's circumstances.

How about Montana?

The authorizer may grant or deny the extension depending on the particular school's circumstances.

Heading down south, to Alabama:

The authorizer may grant or deny the extension, depending on the particular circumstances of the charter school.

...and Mississippi:

The authorizer may grant or deny the extension depending on the school's circumstances.

When you hear folks like Rep. Anderson complaining about the powerful teacher's union just remember that it isn't a plucky group of passionate advocates that came out of nowhere on the other side; the movement in support of charters is quite well funded and organized nationally, and this fight in Washington is just another battle that they've already fought before.

Read more here, if any.