I'm about to run out of credit http://xtube.in.net/ xtube com Huh. I have been a fan of Damon's activist stance and this is a disappointing reveal. And it IS typical among many proclaimed progressives, at least those I know, and that's a large part of what holds back widespread school improvement. I'm not a big fan of charters or even magnets as they currently exist, though I see their value and accept they are unlikely to disappear. I do think they could be more equitably administered, and I'd support them much more if they were. I chose to send my daughter to a declining-on-paper neighborhood public school and don't regret it a bit; about to "graduate" to junior high, she's thriving socially and academically in the high poverty school, where the majority of kids don't share her skin color. Whatever. I've always openly reserved my right to send my daughter wherever I felt she needed to be, but I strongly believe in transforming "failing" neighborhood schools into a positive choice among the many in the landscape. The only way for that to happen, to beat back the leeches and scammers, is for the community to participate - if you want to build local control, especially where schools are concerned, the only way is to take on the challenge it presents, directly - that is, in my view, without corporatist intervention/profiteers. I ran our PTO for years and recently ran a fellow parent's successful school board campaign. There are victories and failures, it's a slow process and frustrating to endure the common naysayers' perception of traditional publics while engaging in the fight to improve them. Sure, "choice" is good, but I know few who wouldn't want to be able to use the local school and eliminate the chaotic, desperate consumerism of public education we're all saddled with now; to avoid the tests, segregation and insane application processes that have become its hallmarks. Seeing that my kid AND my community's children (because that affects my family too) are properly educated is too important to me. It's not a consumer experience for me, it's a civic duty that would be irresponsible to shirk. It's been the most genuinely progressive experience of my life, and the process is certainly passing those values on to my child in a way a theoretical progressive could never, in my opinion. Too bad Mr. Damon missed such a simple truth - actions speak louder than words. Tsk.