Charity

What a horrible feeling it is to receive a $10 donor gift card for LAUSD and think "yeah, but is that going towards the teachers?"  It feels like a situation of "buyer beware" that I have to research Wasserman Foundation and DonorsChooseLA.org to really find the motivation behind this "freebie".  

Yes, I want to help Los Angeles Schools.  I've donated to several teachers--just given them money for supplies they've already paid for; things like crayons and paper.  I'm happy to help but in the same vain don't I pay taxes for these schools?  It also sends a message that teachers will just get what they need while tax dollars go to administration.  Teachers are not administration. 

 

I believe in many cases that if you throw money at it--things will get better; but not if there's a filter that sucks it up.  As I've seen throwing more money in this case has made more administration positions available and no better circumstances for the teachers and students. 

 

The one thing that this gift card has as validation is it will give money to charter and/or public schools--your choice.  In my own research of talking to students and graduates of both public and charter schools that I conducted about 4 years ago I found:

 

40% were Charter school kids and loved school and felt they were going somewhere.

40% of Public school kids hated school and couldn't wait to grow up and get out of there.

10% of Public school kids dropped out.

10% of Public school kids loved school and felt they were going somewhere. 

 

The bottom line was 100% of the Charter schooled kids I talked to loved school.  This by no means is a valid or offical statistic, it's just my own observation from past experience.  Take it with a grain of salt. 

 

Are Charter school teachers better?  Probably not.  I believe what the kids told me--they have the freedom to learn.  Their teachers had the freedom to teach.  Surely, I've offended a union school teacher to which all I can say is this is my observation, cold calculations and questioning the ones around my personal community.  I'm still on your side even if you think not.  I'll still be on your side if you call me nasty names.  I won't take it personally because all I really get from public school teachers is frustration from having their hands tied.  I hear "I wanted to teach, not be a scoreboard" all the time. 

 

However, back to my main subject...I donated the free pass partially because Oprah and Steven Colbert validated the site but also because I looked over the pleas for help from teachers...real teachers.  Some donation sites just feel like I'm tossing money into an administrative chasm.  I got the feeling today's donation will go directly to the teachers and students.  I hope so.