Teaching in the City

Abstract

“Oh, you teach in the city? Like, at a public school? Or is it a charter school?” As a teacher who has spent the majority of my professional career teaching in urban charter schools, this question gives me pause. Many educators who work in charter schools see themselves as public school teachers. After all, charter schools are publicly funded and are meant to serve the same students as our district counterparts. However, in the highly politicized and polarized context of educational policy in modern America, the term “charter school” carries numerous connotations, and not all of them are positive. These contentions surrounding charter schools have a way of turning lighthearted and benign conversations into debates about charter schools and the quality of charter school teachers.