May 13, 2008
The Defender weighs in
I’m not sure whether this one falls more under “All Education All The Time” or “High Comedy.” Either way, the Richmond Defender has a small blurb on the PH charter school (No website, but PDF here). Their first couple of questions are some that we’ve heard a lot the last couple of weeks:
Will the proposed charter school be open to all Richmond children, including the disabled? Will the school’s requirement of “parental involvement” and a staggered, year-round school schedule be an obstacle to working parents?
But the knee-slapper comes at the end:
And what will be the involvement of the Lexington Institute, the neocon Virginia think tank that has been advising the project?
Now, not being involved with the effort, I don’t know anything about the Lexington Institute, who they are or even if they’re actually involved. But of the people I do know who are involved and/or supportive of the the PH effort, “neocon” is the last descriptor that would come to mind.
Never a dull moment in Richmond…
That small blurb in the Defender is offensive. The Richmond Defender is to the democrats as Jerry Falwell is to the republicans. The crap coming out of the Voice and the Richmond Defender makes me want to run from my own party. I’d like to know where they obtained the info on the neocon think tank connection. If anyone is interested, call the Defender at 644-5834 and let them know what you think. The website is http://www.DefendersFJE.org.
Found an article on Obama and education on the Lexington Institute’s website: http://lexingtoninstitute.org/1248.shtml.Which presidential candidate does the Richmond Defender endorse?
The “which” doesn’t belong with the web address…sorry.
It’s a tiny blurb of an article and they raise questions that are easily answered. The Patrick Henry Charter School Initiative is and has always been an open book. They are welcome to come to any PHCI meeting which have always been open to the public. Meeting details are posted on http://www.patrickhenrycharter.org.
Isn’t the Defenders’ blurb simply raising questions to increase awareness of the political machinations that might operating around an otherwise grassroots effort? It’s a shame that the one-liner is not substantiated. But, I believe that the question is a reference to their past stories that delve into Wilder’s motives in attacking the RPS administration. The Obama/democrat questions aren’t really relevant and reacting to a single word as the basis for a blog entry is about as thin as the Defender’s blurb.
Here’s a bit more about the Lexington Institute. They advocate for the privatization of public education. That may not be the same mission as PHCI, but I’d be interested to know more about whatever overlap there may be:
http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1509.html
I disagree completely. The PHI, as best I can tell, is a pretty apolitical (or at least non-partisan) effort. The suggestion that it’s some sort of neocon-backed effort is a pretty substantial statement, especially when such a statement is made in a publication whose target audience likely contains very few of a neocon mindset.
Okay, we have officially overused the word “neocon”. I have seen this word pop up over twenty times in several posts on several blogs for the past few weeks. Enough, it is starting sound like a sound byte.
How about “head-scratcher” instead of “knee-slapper”? I mean, since all the information isn’t in, maybe it’s a bit premature to ridicule the Defender’s question. That said, Defenders - if you’re reading this, how ’bout a little clarification? Agreed that “neocon” isn’t a very useful descriptor in local politics. The issue seems to be the precedent set, the symbolism of the charter school movement’s manifestation in Richmond, and maybe the worldview behind PHCI. Anyhow, my speculation is about as informed as the original post, so I’ll step back and cross my fingers crossed for someone to shed light on this.
Foodie, Although I am for this PHI, I am not an advocate for the privatization of public education. And Yes, I think this is exactly what the neocons want. So what I want is for the RPS to stop pushing us in this direction and start offering a top rate education that is not based on SOL scores alone and give us school choices. Also RPS needs to clean house, wipe out corruption, and stop with the damage control crap and start advocating for the students instead of busying themselves with self protection. My family has had it so bad in the RPS that I’m about ready to fight for vouchers.
Hills & Heights readers:
On its Web site, the Patrick Henry School Initiative lists among its supporters the Lexington Institute, which it lauds for grant-writing assistance and “planning support.”
For more background on the Initiative and the Lexington Institute, please see a full-page article that appeared in the Nov.-Dec. 2007 edition of The Richmond Defender, titled “Charter advocates wait on School Board decision on Patrick Henry.” You can find it on the Web site of the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality (www.DefendersFJE.org). From the home page, click onto “Current and previous issues.” From there, click onto “Patrick Henry Initiative.”
Phil Wilayto
Editor
The Richmond Defender
FYI: The Defender is an independent newspaper, with no ties to either the Republicans or Democrats. To date, we have never endorsed a political candidate.