Introduction.
We in the United States believe that education is the foundation of opportunity. We still believe that education is the great equalizer; it creates opportunity, spurs innovation and helps our people become well rounded and informed citizens. Paolo Friere (1970) in his landmark book "The Pedagogy of the Oppressed" states that "education is the practice of freedom." Even more to the point the U S Chamber of Commerce says, "We must understand that in the 21st century the race for human talent will define the global winners and losers more than any other factor, America's first priority must be to high-quality talent. An educated workforce is essential to America's and Illinois' ability to maintain economic competitiveness (Karanovich, F. 2010),.
Traditional state sponsored school curriculum and learning methods may not be relevant to the needs to today's learners. Careers begin at a much younger age and at a more advanced level then they did years ago and a college degree can sometimes be a hindrance to those who are of the entrepruenal ( E.G. Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs) class. However, the average person most likely will never receive the kind of advanced placement in life that those whom are born into wealth and privilege enjoy.
Some concerned parents may feel compelled to fight to get their children into charter schools. They may participate in lottery pools, PTA meetings or result to protesting .The teaching methods of nontraditional schools are designed to get the most of "today's" students. Part of this is due to the flexibility and increased resources they are afforded as a result of the new charter school structuring and methods. It is the hypothesis of our experiment that charter and private high schools, although still controversial provide today's modern students a superior learning experience than do our traditional public high schools( Stand for Children, 2012).