By NANCY ZUCKERBROD, AP Education Writer
While it's the start of the school year for most U.S. students, children at Barcroft Elementary have been at their desks for nearly a month — and they're fine with that.
The suburban Washington school is among 3,000 across the nation that have tossed aside the traditional calendar for one with a shorter summer break and more time off during the rest of the year. The goal: preventing kids from forgetting what they have learned.
Barcroft's principal, Miriam Hughey-Guy, pushed for the new calendar in hopes of boosting student achievement. She had read studies showing the toll a long summer break takes on what students remember, and she figured that shorter breaks also would help the school's many immigrants keep up their English skills.
Tests given to kids in the spring and fall show children generally slide in math and reading during the traditional summer break lasting 10 to 12 weeks, says Harris Cooper, director of the education program at Duke University. Both poor students and their wealthier counterparts lose math skills, and kids from low-income families also decline in reading. More than half of Barcroft's students are poor.
There hasn't been rigorous research into whether students at schools where summer breaks are short do better than kids attending other schools. But existing comparisons suggest the modified calendars have a small positive effect on student achievement. The impact appears to be somewhat bigger for low-income children.
Ron Fairchild, executive director of the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University, says reconfiguring the school calendar simply makes sense.
"You would expect an athlete or a musician's performance to suffer if they didn't practice," said Fairchild, whose organization advocates for educational summertime opportunities for kids.
There are about 3,000 U.S. schools using alternate calendars like the one at Barcroft, where July is the only full month off, according to the National Association For Year-Round Education.
The number of schools on modified calendars with shorter summer breaks more than doubled in the last 15 years. Today, 46 states have schools operating on these calendars — up from 23 states in 1992. The entire Hawaiian school system recently moved to a nontraditional calendar with a seven-week summer break.
A goal of the federal No Child Left Behind law is to get all students reading and doing math at their grade level by 2014. That has placed enormous pressure on schools to try new things, including reconfiguring calendars and schedules.
Teachers typically spend time at the beginning of each year reviewing the previous year's lessons. Schools that have fewer weeks off in the summer may need to do less of that.
It's mostly elementary schools using the modified calendars; For older students, that could make it hard to get summer jobs or participate in competitive sports programs.
In Auburn, Ala., a push to move to a year-round calendar created an outcry and ultimately failed, partly because of high-school athletics.
"It would have put a vacation in the middle of the football season," said Chris Newland, a father of two who fought the change and a psychology professor at Auburn University. "You don't touch football here."
Newland said parents didn't like the idea of putting the younger kids on a modified schedule and leaving the older ones on the traditional calendar. That would make it hard to take family vacations and would be especially problematic in a university town, where families often spend entire summers off together, he said.
Schools that have a calendar like Barcroft's typically offer educational programs during the fall, winter and spring breaks. At Barcroft, about 80 percent of kids participate. The courses offered are often aimed at giving remedial help to those who need it, a common purpose of traditional summer school.
Many teachers at year-round schools believe providing remedial help after nine weeks of coursework is an improvement over the traditional model in which kids wait until summer school to get extensive help, says Duke University's Cooper.
In addition to helping struggling kids, the breaks at Barcroft include fun electives that aren't typically offered during regular school periods.
One recent program was devoted to wetlands, which second-grader Anthony Merica described with glee. "We made clay things," he said breathlessly. "We made clay turtles and lily pads for frogs. It was fun!"
Not all schools go to a year-round schedule to boost student achievement. Some do it because they have more kids than they can accommodate in a building. By extending the school year, they can rotate more kids through a building by giving them different schedules.
The traditional school calendar dates to a period when children were more likely to be needed on family farms in the summer, and before air conditioning made school buildings hospitable during hot months.
It took Hughey-Guy two years to implement the change at Barcroft. She said parents were skeptical at first, but most backed the change after they learned more about it.
All of Barcroft's teachers decided to stay, and in some cases the calendar has even been a recruiting tool.
"I was definitely excited about the calendar. I didn't want two-and-a-half months off with nothing to do," said new first-grade teacher Caitlin Miller. She says the longer breaks during the year have improved her teaching, "They are a chance to reevaluate how the year is going — to stop, collect my thoughts and plan."
Reading, writing and rebellion? Homeschooling takes on tradition, but some wonder if students are seeing benefitsBy
By Inness Asher
Rather than the title of an often-controversial federal program, the phrase 'No Child Left Behind' might very well be the rallying cry for the contemporary homeschooling movement. On the rise nationally -- and with a prominent presence in Acadiana -- it's evident that among those with the will and determination, home teaching is a rich and satisfying experience.
Unfortunately, because the nature of homeschooling is still somewhat a tacit act of rebellion -- one which sometimes doesn't lend itself to voluntary information disclosure -- statistics are somewhat dated and limited.
As reported by the National Center for Education Statistics, the most recent national survey estimated the number of homeschooled students increasing from 850,000 students in 1999 (about 1.7 percent of the total student population), to 1,096,000 students in 2003 (approximately 2.2 percent of the total student population). While such a rate of increase doesn't yet endanger the current U. S. educational systems, it should create some reflective moments in wiser school administrators.
As an alternative to traditional school programs, the reasons for moving away from institutionalized education are as varied as those who homeschool. Some find a home environment a preferable alternative for religious reasons; others, however, say they are seeking a quality of individualized education lacking in schools run by an increasing oligarchy of professional administrators whom they often find more interested in the current lover's knot of test scores and government funding than in providing education to individual students.
Two Lafayette parents, Kate Corkern and Marie Diaz, members of the Magnolia Home Educators community, have had ample experience with children and their education. According to Corkern, the traditional school system was definitely more concerned with adapting her child to fit their mold rather than finding an individualized approach to his needs. To her, homeschooling is a way to provide a rich education to her children, while bypassing the increasingly programmatic instruction in today's schools.
"But it quickly becomes more than that," she says. "The family dynamics are natural and there's no interference."
In addition to how she views homeschooling as a natural extension of the family, she also cites a variety of reasons other homeschoolers she knows have undertaken the education of their own children.
"The reasons are as varied as people are," she says. "Some are religious, some kids are brilliant or slow or weird or persecuted in school."
Corkern's assessment aligns accurately with the NCES survey findings. According to the survey, 31 percent of parents responding cited school environments "as the most important reason for homeschooling." Another 30 percent noted a need for religious or moral instruction they found lacking, with 16 percent citing "dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other schools."
Or as Corkern simply states, "Most people would say they're homeschooling because they want to offer their children something different."
Diaz has had experience in both local public and private schools. A Tulane graduate, she nevertheless found that when the time came to introduce her daughter Ruth to the traditional school systems, neither were sufficient.
"We looked at public and private schools where my daughter was accepted," says Diaz, "but it just wasn't right. It just didn't feel right."
Beginning with Holy Family Home Educators, the local Roman Catholic homeschooling organization, Diaz eventually joined what was then only a mailing list begun by Corkern and a few other interested parents. As the list grew and others found an open network of like-minded parents, Magnolia Home Educators was born. Three additional children later (Joseph, Martha and Annette), Diaz is pleased with the choice she made back when her family was just beginning.
"We began as a group of interested parents," she says. "We were lucky enough to network with a couple who had homeschooled and they were reassuring."
Speak to any dedicated homeschooler and you will eventually hear of the need for such a connection. Without the support of others within a community, the very idea of homeschooling can be so intimidating as to welcome either poor practices or outright failure. With mutual support, however, Lafayette homeschooling parents can begin undauntedly teaching their children, and continue as the experience achieves academic results.
"Based on skills ranking my children, (they) haven't done too badly," Diaz modestly admits.
By anyone's account, the scholarly success of each of her children is remarkable, even by the standards of traditional education. Indeed, those are the standards by which most serious home educators gauge the progress of their pupils. With a 4.0 grade point average, Diaz' eldest daughter qualified for acceptance at a variety of both public and private universities; at the senior high level, her son Joseph is a college scholarship recipient and a National Merit semi-finalist.
Was this the kind of success she envisioned when she began homeschooling her children?
"We home schooled kind of one year at a time," says Diaz.
With support and dedication came the positive affirmation of academic success. One year led to another, she says, until at one point she eventually realized "the chances of not doing it are kind of slim right now."
Despite the enthusiasm engendered by almost every successful home-schooling parent, most traditional school participants have some serious and legitimate concerns when considering homeschooling.
How does one acquire the qualifications for imparting knowledge to one's own child on a wide variety of subjects even parents sometimes find daunting?
"Teacher's guides," says Corkern, "are essential."
Also, thanks to a free-market economy and the rapid expansion of an initial cottage industry, homeschooling parents now have an expansive array of educational material to choose from -- unlike those parents who often had to make do with used texts and subject guides less than a decade ago.
"You start out with 'school-in-a-box', everything prepared for you, but you quickly move on," says Corkern. "You start shopping around. The marketplace has really expanded to fit so many different people. Most people who do it for any length of time get the hang of it."
Not unlike teachers themselves, she adds.
Modern homeschoolers also dismiss that oft-cited bugaboo some bring up time and again: The lack of socialization homeschooling provides in contrast to the traditional classroom and playground.
"We haven't found a problem with socialization skills," says Diaz. "We see other children a fair number of times, above and beyond having friends."
She cites numerous community organizations and activities in which her children and others participate, again illustrating that a community of caring parents plays a key role in educating one's own children. The list grows rapidly as Diaz recounts the extensive extracurricular activities of the Magnolia Home Educators.
"We do field trips together, have group meetings, we sometimes meet at the park," she says. "The only thing they [the students] do alone is study. Generally most of their academic work is done at home with their brothers and sisters, if they have them. But for most other activities, there are ways to meet people, and we take those opportunities."
One example of socialization is the monthly meeting of the Magnolia Home Educators held at the Main Branch of the Lafayette Public Library.
"The library has been very welcoming to us," says Diaz. "A lot of the teenagers are involved in the Lafayette Teen Committee at the library. This year they had Book Buddies, and several of the homeschooling kids were involved in that."
Book Buddies is a confidence-building program in which independent readers aged 7-10 are paired with more experienced readers. Initially part of the Summer Reading Series, the success of the program has it resuming in October. Among home schoolers, as well as the public, it is the literate and educational activities that make local libraries community focal points.
"The Children's Department has been wonderful," says Diaz. "I think in most communities homeschoolers will gravitate to the libraries."
Rather than the title of an often-controversial federal program, the phrase 'No Child Left Behind' might very well be the rallying cry for the contemporary homeschooling movement. On the rise nationally -- and with a prominent presence in Acadiana -- it's evident that among those with the will and determination, home teaching is a rich and satisfying experience.
Unfortunately, because the nature of homeschooling is still somewhat a tacit act of rebellion -- one which sometimes doesn't lend itself to voluntary information disclosure -- statistics are somewhat dated and limited.
As reported by the National Center for Education Statistics, the most recent national survey estimated the number of homeschooled students increasing from 850,000 students in 1999 (about 1.7 percent of the total student population), to 1,096,000 students in 2003 (approximately 2.2 percent of the total student population). While such a rate of increase doesn't yet endanger the current U. S. educational systems, it should create some reflective moments in wiser school administrators.
As an alternative to traditional school programs, the reasons for moving away from institutionalized education are as varied as those who homeschool. Some find a home environment a preferable alternative for religious reasons; others, however, say they are seeking a quality of individualized education lacking in schools run by an increasing oligarchy of professional administrators whom they often find more interested in the current lover's knot of test scores and government funding than in providing education to individual students.
Two Lafayette parents, Kate Corkern and Marie Diaz, members of the Magnolia Home Educators community, have had ample experience with children and their education. According to Corkern, the traditional school system was definitely more concerned with adapting her child to fit their mold rather than finding an individualized approach to his needs. To her, homeschooling is a way to provide a rich education to her children, while bypassing the increasingly programmatic instruction in today's schools.
"But it quickly becomes more than that," she says. "The family dynamics are natural and there's no interference."
In addition to how she views homeschooling as a natural extension of the family, she also cites a variety of reasons other homeschoolers she knows have undertaken the education of their own children.
"The reasons are as varied as people are," she says. "Some are religious, some kids are brilliant or slow or weird or persecuted in school."
Corkern's assessment aligns accurately with the NCES survey findings. According to the survey, 31 percent of parents responding cited school environments "as the most important reason for homeschooling." Another 30 percent noted a need for religious or moral instruction they found lacking, with 16 percent citing "dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other schools."
Or as Corkern simply states, "Most people would say they're homeschooling because they want to offer their children something different."
Diaz has had experience in both local public and private schools. A Tulane graduate, she nevertheless found that when the time came to introduce her daughter Ruth to the traditional school systems, neither were sufficient.
"We looked at public and private schools where my daughter was accepted," says Diaz, "but it just wasn't right. It just didn't feel right."
Beginning with Holy Family Home Educators, the local Roman Catholic homeschooling organization, Diaz eventually joined what was then only a mailing list begun by Corkern and a few other interested parents. As the list grew and others found an open network of like-minded parents, Magnolia Home Educators was born. Three additional children later (Joseph, Martha and Annette), Diaz is pleased with the choice she made back when her family was just beginning.
"We began as a group of interested parents," she says. "We were lucky enough to network with a couple who had homeschooled and they were reassuring."
Speak to any dedicated homeschooler and you will eventually hear of the need for such a connection. Without the support of others within a community, the very idea of homeschooling can be so intimidating as to welcome either poor practices or outright failure. With mutual support, however, Lafayette homeschooling parents can begin undauntedly teaching their children, and continue as the experience achieves academic results.
"Based on skills ranking my children, (they) haven't done too badly," Diaz modestly admits.
By anyone's account, the scholarly success of each of her children is remarkable, even by the standards of traditional education. Indeed, those are the standards by which most serious home educators gauge the progress of their pupils. With a 4.0 grade point average, Diaz' eldest daughter qualified for acceptance at a variety of both public and private universities; at the senior high level, her son Joseph is a college scholarship recipient and a National Merit semi-finalist.
Was this the kind of success she envisioned when she began homeschooling her children?
"We home schooled kind of one year at a time," says Diaz.
With support and dedication came the positive affirmation of academic success. One year led to another, she says, until at one point she eventually realized "the chances of not doing it are kind of slim right now."
Despite the enthusiasm engendered by almost every successful home-schooling parent, most traditional school participants have some serious and legitimate concerns when considering homeschooling.
How does one acquire the qualifications for imparting knowledge to one's own child on a wide variety of subjects even parents sometimes find daunting?
"Teacher's guides," says Corkern, "are essential."
Also, thanks to a free-market economy and the rapid expansion of an initial cottage industry, homeschooling parents now have an expansive array of educational material to choose from -- unlike those parents who often had to make do with used texts and subject guides less than a decade ago.
"You start out with 'school-in-a-box', everything prepared for you, but you quickly move on," says Corkern. "You start shopping around. The marketplace has really expanded to fit so many different people. Most people who do it for any length of time get the hang of it."
Not unlike teachers themselves, she adds.
Modern homeschoolers also dismiss that oft-cited bugaboo some bring up time and again: The lack of socialization homeschooling provides in contrast to the traditional classroom and playground.
"We haven't found a problem with socialization skills," says Diaz. "We see other children a fair number of times, above and beyond having friends."
She cites numerous community organizations and activities in which her children and others participate, again illustrating that a community of caring parents plays a key role in educating one's own children. The list grows rapidly as Diaz recounts the extensive extracurricular activities of the Magnolia Home Educators.
"We do field trips together, have group meetings, we sometimes meet at the park," she says. "The only thing they [the students] do alone is study. Generally most of their academic work is done at home with their brothers and sisters, if they have them. But for most other activities, there are ways to meet people, and we take those opportunities."
One example of socialization is the monthly meeting of the Magnolia Home Educators held at the Main Branch of the Lafayette Public Library.
"The library has been very welcoming to us," says Diaz. "A lot of the teenagers are involved in the Lafayette Teen Committee at the library. This year they had Book Buddies, and several of the homeschooling kids were involved in that."
Book Buddies is a confidence-building program in which independent readers aged 7-10 are paired with more experienced readers. Initially part of the Summer Reading Series, the success of the program has it resuming in October. Among home schoolers, as well as the public, it is the literate and educational activities that make local libraries community focal points.
"The Children's Department has been wonderful," says Diaz. "I think in most communities homeschoolers will gravitate to the libraries."
Do-It-Yourself Education
By Jason Overdorf
Newsweek International
Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue - In India, education is supposed to be free and universal through age 14. In fact, it often doesn't work out that way. Consider Dhiraj Sharma, the 10-year-old son of a bicycle rickshaw driver in Dehli, who was forced to stay home last year after the local state denied him admission because he didn't have the right papers—a common problem. So Dhiraj is now applying to a private school. For just $6 a month, the R.S. School offers a much better education than the state, says Dhiraj's father, Ramesh, complaining that his son "finished class three in government school, and he can't read anything!"
Such problems have sparked a boom in private schooling throughout the developing world. In 2000, James Tooley, an administrator for Orient Global, a Singapore company that invests in education for the poor, went walking in Hyderabad, India, and was startled to find private schools on virtually every corner. He launched a full-scale study in India, China and Africa, and everywhere, officials and aid agencies told him such schools for the poor didn't exist. But when his researchers explored the villages and slums, they found that not only did they exist, they were flourishing. "It's a tremendous success story," says Tooley. "Entrepreneurs are catering to poor, low-income families, and they're achieving better than the government at a fraction of the cost."
The story was perhaps most dramatic in China. Tooley and his chief researcher, Qiang Liu, traveled to the poorest, most remote villages of Gansu province. Officials there insisted there were no private schools. And so it seemed, until Qiang woke up one morning at dawn and canvassed the vegetable market. Sure enough, women who'd traveled there from the neighboring countryside told him about private schools farther up in the mountains. "In the end, our survey found 586 of them in these remote villages, where the government and [aid workers] said there were none."
Elsewhere the private schools were easier to spot and even more numerous. In Delhi, hand-painted signs advertise low-cost private schools at every twist of the narrow lanes. In Hyderabad, 60 percent of the schools serving poor neighborhoods are private. None of them get state aid, and two thirds are not recognized by the government at all—meaning they are essentially black market. In the hinterlands of Accra, Ghana, Tooley's team found the same phenomenon: 65 percent of kids there attended private, unaided schools. In Lagos, in three different slums, the figure jumped to 75 percent.
The numbers suggest that despite the low prices (as little as $1.50 a month), parents believe such schools do a better job than the government. And they're generally right. Harvard's Michael Kremer found that though private-school salaries were lower in India than in public schools, teachers at the former skipped fewer classes (absenteeism is a notorious problem in India's state-run schools). Similarly, a 1999 survey conducted by Delhi University's Centre for Development Economics found that while teachers in state schools spent their time sitting idle, the makeshift private schools enjoyed "feverish classroom activity."
Harder-working teachers, of course, get better results—even when they lack qualifications. Kremer's 2002 study of Colombia's PACES program, one of the largest school-voucher projects ever implemented, found that three years after switching to relatively low-cost private schools, students had accomplished more, repeated fewer grades and scored higher on tests, and were less likely to have dropped out to take jobs, than were their counterparts still stuck in the government system. Other studies have reported similar results in Thailand, Tanzania, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines and elsewhere.
Indeed, it's remarkable how many cheap private schools manage to do more with less. In Uttar Pradesh, one of the poorer Indian states, for instance, Oxford University's Geeta Kingdon has found that private, unaided schools are about twice as cost-effective as government schools, achieving better results in math and comparable results in reading at half the cost. The explanation lies in basic market forces. Competition forces these schools to work effectively. It also produces greater accountability.
In India, teachers' unions are so powerful that educators are almost never fired or transferred for transgressions. And parents are powerless. "At government schools, parents won't even be allowed into the compound, let alone to meet a teacher, but in private schools, in most cases, they have parent-teacher associations," says Parth Shah, president of New Delhi's Center for Civil Society and coordinator of India's School Choice Campaign—a program that promotes vouchers to allow poor kids to attend private school. "Parents feel they have a right to ask a question of a private school."
This higher standard is on view at Priya Adarsh School, another low-cost private operator in northeast Delhi. Here the principal—keen on keeping customers—watches his teachers on a closed-circuit television while he pecks away at a spreadsheet on his desktop PC. The standards aren't perfect, of course; when NEWSWEEK visited, the camera caught one teacher whacking a pupil with a ruler. But at least every teacher was in his or her classroom teaching, and every student was sitting at a desk and paying attention.
Skeptics decry this "at least they're trying" argument. In many regards the cheap private schools are substandard—with poor infrastructure, high teacher-student ratios and poorly qualified instructors—even if they are better than state schools. R. Govinda, head of the department of schools and nonformal education at New Delhi's National University of Educational Planning and Administration, says embracing cheap private schools is defeatist.
"I'm not ready to settle for a substandard alternative," he says. "Comparing them is like comparing two people who are drowning. One is drowning in 20 feet of water, the other is drowning in 30 feet of water. Does it make a difference?"
Other opponents, both in India and elsewhere, argue that ceding the educational field to private players will put an end to any hope of an equal education for all. A study based on a survey of parent satisfaction published earlier this year by researchers at Columbia University found that relying on private markets can undermine educational equity and universal access.
Furthermore, it argues, private schools strive for superior quality only where they compete with government schools; otherwise they offer "lower-quality, second-chance" educations to children without any other option. "There is no reason to assume that private markets will necessarily improve the quality of education," the study concludes.
School-choice advocates respond that it is a fantasy to suggest public education is providing a quality education to all. "You can't compare the reality of private education with some myth of what public education has been like," says Tooley. At least cheap private schools are responsive to parents, and the more parents who choose this route, the better private schools will get, thanks to increased capital, higher demand, more competition and economies of scale. "These are [now] small cottage industries," says Tooley. "They're mom-and-pop stores. There are thousands and thousands of them. Some of them are beginning to consolidate, and you're getting small, embryonic chains."
That's where he's looking to invest much of the $100 million education fund he manages for Orient Global. Already the fund has given grants to six private-school associations or institutions in Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Nepal, and Tooley's team is conducting research in India ahead of opening a chain of budget private schools for the poor there that would set new benchmarks in quality. "It's an inadequate analogy," says Tooley. "But when I go shopping in a supermarket, I go to one of several chains, and poor people also go shopping there. Poorer people. They have the same diversity of choice and the same quality. The chain doesn't discriminate between us. Also, some of them have food stamps or social-security payments, which are like school vouchers. So when you have competing chains of schools, when the market system develops, that inequality will become less relevant." In the meantime, as the slums of Delhi, Lagos and Accra show, black-market schools will continue to thrive, ensuring that, even in places where government has failed them, poor kids can get an adequate education—on the books or off.
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
Newsweek International
Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue - In India, education is supposed to be free and universal through age 14. In fact, it often doesn't work out that way. Consider Dhiraj Sharma, the 10-year-old son of a bicycle rickshaw driver in Dehli, who was forced to stay home last year after the local state denied him admission because he didn't have the right papers—a common problem. So Dhiraj is now applying to a private school. For just $6 a month, the R.S. School offers a much better education than the state, says Dhiraj's father, Ramesh, complaining that his son "finished class three in government school, and he can't read anything!"
Such problems have sparked a boom in private schooling throughout the developing world. In 2000, James Tooley, an administrator for Orient Global, a Singapore company that invests in education for the poor, went walking in Hyderabad, India, and was startled to find private schools on virtually every corner. He launched a full-scale study in India, China and Africa, and everywhere, officials and aid agencies told him such schools for the poor didn't exist. But when his researchers explored the villages and slums, they found that not only did they exist, they were flourishing. "It's a tremendous success story," says Tooley. "Entrepreneurs are catering to poor, low-income families, and they're achieving better than the government at a fraction of the cost."
The story was perhaps most dramatic in China. Tooley and his chief researcher, Qiang Liu, traveled to the poorest, most remote villages of Gansu province. Officials there insisted there were no private schools. And so it seemed, until Qiang woke up one morning at dawn and canvassed the vegetable market. Sure enough, women who'd traveled there from the neighboring countryside told him about private schools farther up in the mountains. "In the end, our survey found 586 of them in these remote villages, where the government and [aid workers] said there were none."
Elsewhere the private schools were easier to spot and even more numerous. In Delhi, hand-painted signs advertise low-cost private schools at every twist of the narrow lanes. In Hyderabad, 60 percent of the schools serving poor neighborhoods are private. None of them get state aid, and two thirds are not recognized by the government at all—meaning they are essentially black market. In the hinterlands of Accra, Ghana, Tooley's team found the same phenomenon: 65 percent of kids there attended private, unaided schools. In Lagos, in three different slums, the figure jumped to 75 percent.
The numbers suggest that despite the low prices (as little as $1.50 a month), parents believe such schools do a better job than the government. And they're generally right. Harvard's Michael Kremer found that though private-school salaries were lower in India than in public schools, teachers at the former skipped fewer classes (absenteeism is a notorious problem in India's state-run schools). Similarly, a 1999 survey conducted by Delhi University's Centre for Development Economics found that while teachers in state schools spent their time sitting idle, the makeshift private schools enjoyed "feverish classroom activity."
Harder-working teachers, of course, get better results—even when they lack qualifications. Kremer's 2002 study of Colombia's PACES program, one of the largest school-voucher projects ever implemented, found that three years after switching to relatively low-cost private schools, students had accomplished more, repeated fewer grades and scored higher on tests, and were less likely to have dropped out to take jobs, than were their counterparts still stuck in the government system. Other studies have reported similar results in Thailand, Tanzania, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines and elsewhere.
Indeed, it's remarkable how many cheap private schools manage to do more with less. In Uttar Pradesh, one of the poorer Indian states, for instance, Oxford University's Geeta Kingdon has found that private, unaided schools are about twice as cost-effective as government schools, achieving better results in math and comparable results in reading at half the cost. The explanation lies in basic market forces. Competition forces these schools to work effectively. It also produces greater accountability.
In India, teachers' unions are so powerful that educators are almost never fired or transferred for transgressions. And parents are powerless. "At government schools, parents won't even be allowed into the compound, let alone to meet a teacher, but in private schools, in most cases, they have parent-teacher associations," says Parth Shah, president of New Delhi's Center for Civil Society and coordinator of India's School Choice Campaign—a program that promotes vouchers to allow poor kids to attend private school. "Parents feel they have a right to ask a question of a private school."
This higher standard is on view at Priya Adarsh School, another low-cost private operator in northeast Delhi. Here the principal—keen on keeping customers—watches his teachers on a closed-circuit television while he pecks away at a spreadsheet on his desktop PC. The standards aren't perfect, of course; when NEWSWEEK visited, the camera caught one teacher whacking a pupil with a ruler. But at least every teacher was in his or her classroom teaching, and every student was sitting at a desk and paying attention.
Skeptics decry this "at least they're trying" argument. In many regards the cheap private schools are substandard—with poor infrastructure, high teacher-student ratios and poorly qualified instructors—even if they are better than state schools. R. Govinda, head of the department of schools and nonformal education at New Delhi's National University of Educational Planning and Administration, says embracing cheap private schools is defeatist.
"I'm not ready to settle for a substandard alternative," he says. "Comparing them is like comparing two people who are drowning. One is drowning in 20 feet of water, the other is drowning in 30 feet of water. Does it make a difference?"
Other opponents, both in India and elsewhere, argue that ceding the educational field to private players will put an end to any hope of an equal education for all. A study based on a survey of parent satisfaction published earlier this year by researchers at Columbia University found that relying on private markets can undermine educational equity and universal access.
Furthermore, it argues, private schools strive for superior quality only where they compete with government schools; otherwise they offer "lower-quality, second-chance" educations to children without any other option. "There is no reason to assume that private markets will necessarily improve the quality of education," the study concludes.
School-choice advocates respond that it is a fantasy to suggest public education is providing a quality education to all. "You can't compare the reality of private education with some myth of what public education has been like," says Tooley. At least cheap private schools are responsive to parents, and the more parents who choose this route, the better private schools will get, thanks to increased capital, higher demand, more competition and economies of scale. "These are [now] small cottage industries," says Tooley. "They're mom-and-pop stores. There are thousands and thousands of them. Some of them are beginning to consolidate, and you're getting small, embryonic chains."
That's where he's looking to invest much of the $100 million education fund he manages for Orient Global. Already the fund has given grants to six private-school associations or institutions in Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Nepal, and Tooley's team is conducting research in India ahead of opening a chain of budget private schools for the poor there that would set new benchmarks in quality. "It's an inadequate analogy," says Tooley. "But when I go shopping in a supermarket, I go to one of several chains, and poor people also go shopping there. Poorer people. They have the same diversity of choice and the same quality. The chain doesn't discriminate between us. Also, some of them have food stamps or social-security payments, which are like school vouchers. So when you have competing chains of schools, when the market system develops, that inequality will become less relevant." In the meantime, as the slums of Delhi, Lagos and Accra show, black-market schools will continue to thrive, ensuring that, even in places where government has failed them, poor kids can get an adequate education—on the books or off.
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
The invincible Venus Williams comes back for thirds
Here's a good story on a rather famous homeschooler, tennis star Venus Williams.
Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue - Venus Williams, 27, is at an age when most tennis greats prepare for retirement. But she's showing no signs of slowing up.
This month Williams will go after her third U.S. Open title in Flushing, N.Y. It's been nearly 13 years since Venus and her sister Serena began to put a stranglehold on the tennis world with their beaded braids; for some fans, the mention of their names still sparks heated criticism of their flashy wardrobes and sporadic appearances on the pro circuit.
Still, no one can question their influence on the sport. Together, they've earned some $75 million and 14 Grand Slam singles titles. As Venus's career enjoys another upswing, she's reveling in her new role: elder stateswoman.
Williams secured her fourth Wimbledon women's singles title this summer—a feat previously accomplished only by Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Billie Jean King.
"The first time I played at Wimbledon, I was so young and so sure I was going to win that I bought a ball dress to wear to the championship parties," she says with a giggle over a dinner of buttermilk biscuits and Gatorade. "This time, after all my injuries, I couldn't think that far ahead."
She has other things on her mind, too.
For the first time in the history of women's singles at Wimbledon, Williams's prize, $1.4 million, was the same as that of her male counterpart. Equal pay has been a longtime crusade for Williams, who wrote an op-ed in The Times of London and delivered an impassioned speech on the subject at the All England Club. "I asked them to imagine their daughter out there," she says, "playing equally hard as men and not getting the same reward."
Venus's Wimbledon victory fell on the 50th anniversary of the first African-American Wimbledon win by Althea Gibson. But Venus's father, Richard, made news when he told reporters not much had changed for African- Americans in 50 years. His daughter respectfully disagrees.
"Both of my parents are from the South, and that shapes the way they think about and see things,'' Williams says. "I know what they and my ancestors experienced, so I get it. But it has been slightly different for my sister and I. We've had opportunities and breaks our parents never had."
In the past, Venus has been linked to a number of men, including a former bodyguard, but she's tried to stay casual about dating. "I don't worry about it too much," she says. "As Beyoncé says, 'I could have another you in a minute'." This year, though, Venus had a boyfriend sitting in her guest box for the first time: Hank Kuehne, a pro golfer from Texas. He happens not to be African-American, a fact various African-American blogs have taken issue with. Venus says she doesn't read blogs—and "I don't really spend a lot of time thinking about marriage and kids. I'm not a normal girl like that."
Though Williams can seem invincible on the court, her life hasn't been easy. Her parents divorced in 2002; the next year, her older sister Yetunde—one of six girls in the family—was shot down in a drive-by attack near the family's old neighborhood in L.A. "That took a lot out of all of us," Williams says. "I think the worst part was getting back to feeling safe after she died. For a long time after that I would call all my sisters daily to make sure they were OK."
—Allison Samuels
Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue - Venus Williams, 27, is at an age when most tennis greats prepare for retirement. But she's showing no signs of slowing up.
This month Williams will go after her third U.S. Open title in Flushing, N.Y. It's been nearly 13 years since Venus and her sister Serena began to put a stranglehold on the tennis world with their beaded braids; for some fans, the mention of their names still sparks heated criticism of their flashy wardrobes and sporadic appearances on the pro circuit.
Still, no one can question their influence on the sport. Together, they've earned some $75 million and 14 Grand Slam singles titles. As Venus's career enjoys another upswing, she's reveling in her new role: elder stateswoman.
Williams secured her fourth Wimbledon women's singles title this summer—a feat previously accomplished only by Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Billie Jean King.
"The first time I played at Wimbledon, I was so young and so sure I was going to win that I bought a ball dress to wear to the championship parties," she says with a giggle over a dinner of buttermilk biscuits and Gatorade. "This time, after all my injuries, I couldn't think that far ahead."
She has other things on her mind, too.
For the first time in the history of women's singles at Wimbledon, Williams's prize, $1.4 million, was the same as that of her male counterpart. Equal pay has been a longtime crusade for Williams, who wrote an op-ed in The Times of London and delivered an impassioned speech on the subject at the All England Club. "I asked them to imagine their daughter out there," she says, "playing equally hard as men and not getting the same reward."
Venus's Wimbledon victory fell on the 50th anniversary of the first African-American Wimbledon win by Althea Gibson. But Venus's father, Richard, made news when he told reporters not much had changed for African- Americans in 50 years. His daughter respectfully disagrees.
"Both of my parents are from the South, and that shapes the way they think about and see things,'' Williams says. "I know what they and my ancestors experienced, so I get it. But it has been slightly different for my sister and I. We've had opportunities and breaks our parents never had."
In the past, Venus has been linked to a number of men, including a former bodyguard, but she's tried to stay casual about dating. "I don't worry about it too much," she says. "As Beyoncé says, 'I could have another you in a minute'." This year, though, Venus had a boyfriend sitting in her guest box for the first time: Hank Kuehne, a pro golfer from Texas. He happens not to be African-American, a fact various African-American blogs have taken issue with. Venus says she doesn't read blogs—and "I don't really spend a lot of time thinking about marriage and kids. I'm not a normal girl like that."
Though Williams can seem invincible on the court, her life hasn't been easy. Her parents divorced in 2002; the next year, her older sister Yetunde—one of six girls in the family—was shot down in a drive-by attack near the family's old neighborhood in L.A. "That took a lot out of all of us," Williams says. "I think the worst part was getting back to feeling safe after she died. For a long time after that I would call all my sisters daily to make sure they were OK."
—Allison Samuels
Poll: Family ties key to youth happiness
By JOCELYN NOVECK and TREVOR TOMPSON, Associated Press Writers
So you're between the ages of 13 and 24. What makes you happy? A worried, weary parent might imagine the answer to sound something like this: Sex, drugs, a little rock 'n' roll. Maybe some cash, or at least the car keys.
Turns out the real answer is quite different. Spending time with family was the top answer to that open-ended question, according to an extensive survey — more than 100 questions asked of 1,280 people ages 13-24 — conducted by The Associated Press and MTV on the nature of happiness among America's young people.
Next was spending time with friends, followed by time with a significant other. And even better for parents: Nearly three-quarters of young people say their relationship with their parents makes them happy.
"They're my foundation," says Kristiana St. John, 17, a high-school student from Queens in New York. "My mom tells me that even if I do something stupid, she's still going to love me no matter what. Just knowing that makes me feel very happy and blessed."
Other results are more disconcerting. While most young people are happy overall with the way their lives are going, there are racial differences: the poll shows whites to be happier, across economic categories, than blacks and Hispanics. A lot of young people feel stress, particularly those from the middle class, and females more than males.
You might think money would be clearly tied to a general sense of happiness. But almost no one said "money" when asked what makes them happy, though people with the highest family incomes are generally happier with life. However, having highly educated parents is a stronger predictor of happiness than income.
And sex? Yes, we were getting to that. Being sexually active actually leads to less happiness among 13-17 year olds, according to the survey. If you're 18 to 24, sex might lead to more happiness in the moment, but not in general.
From the body to the soul: Close to half say religion and spirituality are very important. And more than half say they believe there is a higher power that has an influence over things that make them happy. Beyond religion, simply belonging to an organized religious group makes people happier.
And parents, here's some more for you: Most young people in school say it makes them happy. Overwhelmingly, young people think marriage would make them happy and want to be married some day. Most also want to have kids.
Finally, when asked to name their heroes, nearly half of respondents mentioned one or both of their parents. The winner, by a nose: Mom.
___
HAPPINESS IS ...
"...two kinds of ice cream," according to the song from "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." John Lennon, more darkly, described it as a warm gun. A much more typical description comes from Stacy Rosales, a 23-year-old recent college graduate, who calls it "just a general stress-free feeling where I'm not really worried about anything. THAT makes me happy."
For Chad Fiedler, 17, it's "just waking up in the morning and looking forward to what I'm going to be doing that day." And for Esohe Roland, a 14 year old from Nashville, it's "playing trumpet in my school band."
However you express, define or feel it, 65 percent of those surveyed say they're happy with the way things are going for them right now.
WE ARE FAMILY:
When asked what one thing makes them most happy, 20 percent mentioned spending time with family — more than anything else. About three-quarters — 73 percent — said their relationship with their parents makes them happy. After family, it was relationships with friends that people mentioned most.
"It's good news to hear young people being realistic about what really makes them happy," says psychologist Jean Twenge, author of "Generation Me" and a professor at San Diego State University. "Research has shown us that relationships are the single greatest source of happiness."
Also confirming existing research, Twenge says, is the finding that children of divorced parents are somewhat less likely to be happy. Among 13-17 year olds, 64 percent of those with parents still together said they wake up happy, compared to 47 percent of those with divorced parents.
FIRST COMES LOVE, THEN COMES...:
Overall, romantic relationships are a source of happiness — but being in one doesn't necessarily lead to greater happiness with life in general.
"It would be nice, but where I am right now is, I want to take care of myself," says Rosales.
"Before you can be in a committed relationship you have to know who you are and what you really want."
Eventually, though, marriage is a goal for most young people, with 92 percent saying they either definitely or probably want to get married.
"I don't want to be one of those career businesswomen who just doesn't ever settle down," says St. John, the New York high school student.
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY:
Money may make the world go around, but when asked what one thing makes them happiest, almost nobody in the poll mentioned money or anything material. Still, money does play a role in happiness.
Those who can't afford to buy many of the things they want are less happy with life in general.
Just under half of young people think they'd be happier if they had more money, while the same percentage (49 percent) say they'd be just as happy.
"I'm going to college next year," says Fiedler, who will attend Drexel University in Philadelphia.
"Not the cheapest thing nowadays. Money isn't the most important thing, but if something happens, it can turn into it."
STRESSES, FEARS:
Young people in this survey had a 10 percent higher stress rate than adults did in a 2006 AP-Ipsos poll. For ages 13 to 17, school is the greatest source of stress. For those in the 18-24 range, it's jobs and financial matters.
Only 29 percent feel very safe traveling, and 25 percent very safe from terror attacks. Still, those interviewed said the fear of terror interfered very little with their lives.
DRUGS AND ALCOHOL: Alcohol users are slightly less happy than those who don't drink. The differences are more remarkable among 13-17 year olds; just 40 percent of those who drank in the last seven days reported being happy with life, versus 68 percent of those who didn't. And 49 percent of illegal drug users reported being happy with life, compared with 66 percent of those who didn't use drugs.
RACIAL DIVIDE:
While 72 percent of whites say they're happy with life in general, just 56 percent of blacks and 51 percent of Hispanics say that. And 66 percent of whites were happy at the moment the interview began, compared with 57 percent of minorities.
SUSTENANCE FOR THE SOUL:
"I just like believing in something greater than me and everybody else," St. John, who attends a Catholic school, says of her commitment to religion. "When I pray, sometimes it just makes me feel better, if I'm freaking out about things."
Those for whom religion and spirituality plays a bigger role tend to be happier, according to the poll. More than half — 55 percent — say it is either a very important part of life or the single most important thing in their lives.
I NEED A HERO:
Oprah Winfrey? Michael Jordan? Hillary Clinton? Tiger Woods? All those names came up when people were asked about heroes. Of public figures, Martin Luther King, Jr. got the most mentions. But nearly half mentioned one of their parents, with mothers ranking higher (29 percent) than fathers (21 percent.)
"My parents came here from the Philippines in the '70s," says Rosales. "They raised a family and got to where they are from scratch. My mother's now the director of a hospital. I admire them both so much."
"My mother is a pastor, and she's my role model," says Esohe, the 14 year old in Nashville. "She's so giving." Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to name their mothers.
Also mentioned: God (more than 10 percent), teachers (nearly 5 percent); and members of the military, policemen and firefighters.
THE CRYSTAL BALL:
Will young people grow up to be happy adults? Overall they're optimistic: Sixty-two percent think they'll be happier in the future than they are now. (Those over 18 are more optimistic.) But many anticipate a more difficult life than their parents had.
"I think a lot about my kids and what their lives are going to be like," says Fiedler. "There may be wars going on, who knows. I just have a feeling it's going to be harder for the future generation to be happy."
___
The AP-MTV poll was conducted by Knowledge Networks Inc. from April 16 to 23, and involved online interviews with 1,280 people aged 13 to 24. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.
So you're between the ages of 13 and 24. What makes you happy? A worried, weary parent might imagine the answer to sound something like this: Sex, drugs, a little rock 'n' roll. Maybe some cash, or at least the car keys.
Turns out the real answer is quite different. Spending time with family was the top answer to that open-ended question, according to an extensive survey — more than 100 questions asked of 1,280 people ages 13-24 — conducted by The Associated Press and MTV on the nature of happiness among America's young people.
Next was spending time with friends, followed by time with a significant other. And even better for parents: Nearly three-quarters of young people say their relationship with their parents makes them happy.
"They're my foundation," says Kristiana St. John, 17, a high-school student from Queens in New York. "My mom tells me that even if I do something stupid, she's still going to love me no matter what. Just knowing that makes me feel very happy and blessed."
Other results are more disconcerting. While most young people are happy overall with the way their lives are going, there are racial differences: the poll shows whites to be happier, across economic categories, than blacks and Hispanics. A lot of young people feel stress, particularly those from the middle class, and females more than males.
You might think money would be clearly tied to a general sense of happiness. But almost no one said "money" when asked what makes them happy, though people with the highest family incomes are generally happier with life. However, having highly educated parents is a stronger predictor of happiness than income.
And sex? Yes, we were getting to that. Being sexually active actually leads to less happiness among 13-17 year olds, according to the survey. If you're 18 to 24, sex might lead to more happiness in the moment, but not in general.
From the body to the soul: Close to half say religion and spirituality are very important. And more than half say they believe there is a higher power that has an influence over things that make them happy. Beyond religion, simply belonging to an organized religious group makes people happier.
And parents, here's some more for you: Most young people in school say it makes them happy. Overwhelmingly, young people think marriage would make them happy and want to be married some day. Most also want to have kids.
Finally, when asked to name their heroes, nearly half of respondents mentioned one or both of their parents. The winner, by a nose: Mom.
___
HAPPINESS IS ...
"...two kinds of ice cream," according to the song from "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." John Lennon, more darkly, described it as a warm gun. A much more typical description comes from Stacy Rosales, a 23-year-old recent college graduate, who calls it "just a general stress-free feeling where I'm not really worried about anything. THAT makes me happy."
For Chad Fiedler, 17, it's "just waking up in the morning and looking forward to what I'm going to be doing that day." And for Esohe Roland, a 14 year old from Nashville, it's "playing trumpet in my school band."
However you express, define or feel it, 65 percent of those surveyed say they're happy with the way things are going for them right now.
WE ARE FAMILY:
When asked what one thing makes them most happy, 20 percent mentioned spending time with family — more than anything else. About three-quarters — 73 percent — said their relationship with their parents makes them happy. After family, it was relationships with friends that people mentioned most.
"It's good news to hear young people being realistic about what really makes them happy," says psychologist Jean Twenge, author of "Generation Me" and a professor at San Diego State University. "Research has shown us that relationships are the single greatest source of happiness."
Also confirming existing research, Twenge says, is the finding that children of divorced parents are somewhat less likely to be happy. Among 13-17 year olds, 64 percent of those with parents still together said they wake up happy, compared to 47 percent of those with divorced parents.
FIRST COMES LOVE, THEN COMES...:
Overall, romantic relationships are a source of happiness — but being in one doesn't necessarily lead to greater happiness with life in general.
"It would be nice, but where I am right now is, I want to take care of myself," says Rosales.
"Before you can be in a committed relationship you have to know who you are and what you really want."
Eventually, though, marriage is a goal for most young people, with 92 percent saying they either definitely or probably want to get married.
"I don't want to be one of those career businesswomen who just doesn't ever settle down," says St. John, the New York high school student.
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY:
Money may make the world go around, but when asked what one thing makes them happiest, almost nobody in the poll mentioned money or anything material. Still, money does play a role in happiness.
Those who can't afford to buy many of the things they want are less happy with life in general.
Just under half of young people think they'd be happier if they had more money, while the same percentage (49 percent) say they'd be just as happy.
"I'm going to college next year," says Fiedler, who will attend Drexel University in Philadelphia.
"Not the cheapest thing nowadays. Money isn't the most important thing, but if something happens, it can turn into it."
STRESSES, FEARS:
Young people in this survey had a 10 percent higher stress rate than adults did in a 2006 AP-Ipsos poll. For ages 13 to 17, school is the greatest source of stress. For those in the 18-24 range, it's jobs and financial matters.
Only 29 percent feel very safe traveling, and 25 percent very safe from terror attacks. Still, those interviewed said the fear of terror interfered very little with their lives.
DRUGS AND ALCOHOL: Alcohol users are slightly less happy than those who don't drink. The differences are more remarkable among 13-17 year olds; just 40 percent of those who drank in the last seven days reported being happy with life, versus 68 percent of those who didn't. And 49 percent of illegal drug users reported being happy with life, compared with 66 percent of those who didn't use drugs.
RACIAL DIVIDE:
While 72 percent of whites say they're happy with life in general, just 56 percent of blacks and 51 percent of Hispanics say that. And 66 percent of whites were happy at the moment the interview began, compared with 57 percent of minorities.
SUSTENANCE FOR THE SOUL:
"I just like believing in something greater than me and everybody else," St. John, who attends a Catholic school, says of her commitment to religion. "When I pray, sometimes it just makes me feel better, if I'm freaking out about things."
Those for whom religion and spirituality plays a bigger role tend to be happier, according to the poll. More than half — 55 percent — say it is either a very important part of life or the single most important thing in their lives.
I NEED A HERO:
Oprah Winfrey? Michael Jordan? Hillary Clinton? Tiger Woods? All those names came up when people were asked about heroes. Of public figures, Martin Luther King, Jr. got the most mentions. But nearly half mentioned one of their parents, with mothers ranking higher (29 percent) than fathers (21 percent.)
"My parents came here from the Philippines in the '70s," says Rosales. "They raised a family and got to where they are from scratch. My mother's now the director of a hospital. I admire them both so much."
"My mother is a pastor, and she's my role model," says Esohe, the 14 year old in Nashville. "She's so giving." Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to name their mothers.
Also mentioned: God (more than 10 percent), teachers (nearly 5 percent); and members of the military, policemen and firefighters.
THE CRYSTAL BALL:
Will young people grow up to be happy adults? Overall they're optimistic: Sixty-two percent think they'll be happier in the future than they are now. (Those over 18 are more optimistic.) But many anticipate a more difficult life than their parents had.
"I think a lot about my kids and what their lives are going to be like," says Fiedler. "There may be wars going on, who knows. I just have a feeling it's going to be harder for the future generation to be happy."
___
The AP-MTV poll was conducted by Knowledge Networks Inc. from April 16 to 23, and involved online interviews with 1,280 people aged 13 to 24. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.
