Response to Success Times Article: Unprinted Letter to NY Times

By selling “accountability” to America’s families, Ms. Moskowitz and the other reformers do America’s children more harm than good....

Dear editor,
Eva Moskowitz, like the snake oil salesmen of old, is peddling one thing—high test scores--but calling it something else--education.  Her sales pitch goes, “For affluent parents who are concerned about the test scores,… their exit strategy is to hire a private tutor,” as if wealthy families actually concern themselves with standardized test scores.  Yes, they pay for music instructors, sports leagues, creative writing, art, and drama classes, even SAT prep courses, but it’s the rare wealthy family that hires tutors to improve state test scores.  In fact, affluent families actively avoid state tests by enrolling in private school. Then, what wealthy family would subject their kids to the kind of rigid, hyper-conformist self-restraint Ms. Moskowitz is demanding? Her product wastes kids’ valuable learning time on vacuous drill and humiliating discipline, depriving them of opportunities to expand their brains in truly meaningful ways. For that she pays herself a half-million dollar salary.
By selling “accountability” to America’s families, Ms. Moskowitz and the other reformers do America’s children more harm than good.

Kari, parent of NYC public school student

Recess at Success Academy Charters

The Times will print more letters in the Sunday edition, I'm sure giving too much space to Eva shills, including one from her and a principal.

Note Eva says: that parents of the more than 22,000 applicants - show us the names Eva to prove they are not just people who signed a "let's have better schools" petition on a subway station.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/opinion/sunday/inside-a-charter-school.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss