By Kyle Olson
EAGnews.org

BOSTON – Many people hold charter schools up as the answer to all problems facing public education.  As “public” schools themselves, they’re an acceptable alternative for many folks who favor school choice, but only so long as the schools are “public.”

While this school choice option is a positive development, there’s still reason to be concerned about what kids are learning in charter schools like Boston’s Smith Leadership Academy.

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They recently showed up in New York City in the first few days of the new school year  to protest home foreclosures and mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. At least one student carried a “Tax the Rich” sign.

Have the Occupy folks opened a charter school?

Actually the students were organized by City Life/Vida Urbana, a Massachusetts-based group with the slogan, “Building Solidarity to Put People Before Profits.” According to its website, the group used a 2011 grant from George Soros’ Open Society Foundation to expand efforts outside Boston.

Boston.com reported: “While the protest and the topic was close to the hearts of many students, the academy saw it as a teaching opportunity for its pupils.

“Classroom lessons were designed to educate students on mortgages, the causes and effects of the housing bubble and how certain companies played a role in the foreclosure crisis.”

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One wonders if reading and comprehending a mortgage agreement before signing it are part of the lessons. Nobody forced the hand of the hundreds of thousands who accepted government-backed mortgages they couldn’t afford a few years ago. Their inability to make their monthly payments helped the bubble burst, too.

But we don’t suppose the folks from City Life/Vida Urbana are sharing that fact with students.

While charter schools tend to be better than traditional schools in many respects, they clearly are not free of teachers who are intent on sharing their political views with students.

It’s incumbent upon parents to know what’s going on in their children’s classrooms, regardless of the kind of “public” school it may be.