It’s funny… not “haha” funny, but the other kind… to watch cheerleaders for cyber charters try to glom on to the work being done by fully certificated and experienced public school teachers who have been forced to move their instruction on line. 1/

Since so few of these cyber charter folks have any meaningful experience in education, let me explain the difference between what they do and what happening in public schools due to Covid-19: 2/

Teachers are taking the existing connections to their students that they made over months at the beginning of this school year and attempting to extend them into on-line instruction. 3/

They are using their knowledge, training, and experience to take on this task with creativity and rigor, aiming to advance their students’ learning and individualize instruction. 4/

It’s not easy, and I doubt there are many who are happy about giving up teaching in their own classrooms. But they are doing their best and, when supported and adequately resourced, helping their students continue learning in a difficult time. 5/

What they are NOT doing is “teaching” using some canned, knock-off, low-rigor curriculum with little accountability, poor instructional methods, inadequately supported staff, and a history of awful results. 6/

There is no equivalency between what public school teachers, administrators, and support staff are doing every day to make the best of a bad situation and the cheap, facile garbage passing for education that has sadly become the standard in the cyber charter industry. 7/

To be clear: there are students who, for any number of valid reasons, need a good on-line instruction platform, with a well-planned curriculum, good instruction, and well-trained educators. 8/

Unfortunately, most cyber charters have shown repeatedly they are incapable of catering to this need. 9/

So let’s not pretend the current efforts of public schools is anything like the crap that way too many in the cyber charter industry have been trying to sell for years. It’s not even close. end/

(Sorry about the grammar.)