Harlem Village Academy has achieved some great things.  With a very disadvantaged minority student body, the charter school "scored one of the highest passing rates (95.7%) in the state’s seventh-grade math test last year, finishing ahead of far more prestigious schools."  After noting the school’s strict discipline policies (they even have rules for student posture while in class), NYC Educator says:

I have no problem with that. But my adventures in hall patrol have taught me that where I work, easy fixes are preferred by many over viable consequences. Anyone who has kids knows that they will get away with everything they’re allowed to. So why do we allow it?

In my classroom, it’s not allowed, and I will go to great lengths to ensure consequences for unacceptable behavior. But despite being a fascistic authoritarian bastard, I’m unwilling to spend my time getting involved with parents of kids who aren’t my students. So why won’t the fascistic authoritarian bastards over at Tweed compel administrators (or deans, or anyone) to back me up?

Check out the comment thread for some very interesting remarks from other teachers.  This one in particular hit the nail on the head:

It’s such an unfair comparison: charters to neighborhood public schools. In the charter school, there are consequences i.e. explusion, if the student doesn’t follow the rules.

In the regular public schools, we don’t have the option to ask them to leave the school permanently. Kids aren’t stupid; they know there are no real consequences for their poor behavior.

So the commenter says, as I have elsewhere, that schools of choice have autonomy.  As noted in that link, I have no problem with teachers doing pretty much whatever they want in their classrooms, which NYC Educator himself does very explicitly.  But there are at least two problems in the system as it is presently structured that will jeopardize his efforts.  For one: as NYC Educator himself attests, he gets no administrative support for his attempts to enforce order outside of his classroom.  And it’s for a very simple reason: administrators don’t face few if any meaningful consequences for student outcomes.  As a result, there is significantly less incentive for them to back him up.

The second issue: lack of parental support.  NYC Educator points out that he has to do a lot of searching (and even engage in a bit of detective work) to track down parent contact information.  To me, that’s utter nonsense–why should any teacher be required to conduct an investigation to get a parent’s phone number?  While part of the problem is likely bureaucratic sloth, I think this points to the significant lack of buy-in from parents that can occur in public schools.  Unlike in choice schools, parents are automatically zoned into a given school, and unless they have means to go elsewhere by way of a private school or a school choice option, they’re locked in.  As a result, many parents aren’t personally invested in the schools they have.  Conversely, one thing that I believe can be said about schools of choice is that the child is enrolled only through the consent of his or her parent (as one of NYC Educator’s commenters pointed out, in many cases charter parents must sign agreements regarding school discipline), resulting in parents who are more committed, or at least more accessible, than in the public school environment. 

But there’s a deeper reason this sort of discipline wouldn’t work in most public schools.  As summed up with a quote from Cato eduanalyst Neal McCluskey regarding the source of many modern school controversies:

…a public school system that demands everyone’s support but can only reflect some people’s values will inevitably lead to conflict. 

Many parents, if not most, value strict discipline and standards.  But some don’t.  Hence, discord.  Harlem Village can run such a tight ship because they can make it known to parents from day one what is expected of them and their children.  Parents who don’t like how the school operates are politely invited to take their children elsewhere.  And students who won’t live up to the standards are shown the door.  But in today’s public school system, a school’s values are imposed upon families who may not accept that school’s values, and as McCluskey pointed out, that’s a fast track to conflict. 

Even NYC Educator, who is publicly critical of charter schools (not to mention vouchers) appreciates the level of discipline enforced in the school.  But the sort of discipline system he values is really only fully workable when all parties are committed, and that is most likely to occur in a school of choice. 

(Hat tip: the most recent Carnival of Education, hosted by Dr. Homeslice.)