Charter confusion, a school-bus driver, dystopian debt relief: What Education Lab is reading this week

Did you disappoint Robert Mueller by not doing the assigned reading? Well don’t disappoint us, too — make sure to read these education stories.

We’re sharing the “What We’re Reading” section from our weekly Education Lab newsletter right here.

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Here’s what we’re reading this week.

Still confused about what a charter school is? You’re not alone. Even former Vice President Joe Biden conflated charters with magnet schools as recently as this week. You may not be running for president, but you should still know how charters are different from other types of schools. The folks at LAist recently published this field guide to help explain key concepts related to charters. Although some parts are specific to California, there’s a lot of helpful general information, too. Speaking of which, the first class from a Washington state charter school is about to graduate, and we talked to them about lessons they’ve learned.

A Sikh school-bus driver in Maryland was harassed by co-workers, supervisors and students alike over his 13-year career. Sawinder Singh has a long beard and wears a turban, and he’s been called a terrorist and other horrible things for it while trying to do his job. Now, as he settles an equal employment complaint filed in 2016, he hopes his experiences will lead to “a greater understanding among employees and students of Sikhs and other religious minorities,” The Washington Post reports. “My background is in serving, not harming anybody,” Singh said.

We live in a world where a fast-food restaurant might pay off your student loans. You read that right. Burger King is running a two-week “Whopper Loans” contest giving away 150 prizes of up to $500 and a grand prize of up to $100,000 in debt relief. Brands have used these kinds of social-media antics recently, The Atlantic reports, adding to a “dystopian genre of debt relief” that already includes billionaires paying off student debt and a game show where contestants compete for a chance to escape their loans. “Student debt is a problem that needs a systematic fix … This genre treats the idea of debt as a sweepstakes that only a lucky few can win; the fear is that people will get accustomed to it.”