Reply #2: There is so much that they aren't being taught anymore

[Mabus]

but I don't blame the teachers. It is symptomatic of the NCLB policy which does dumb down our educational system. Kids aren't being taught the basics nor are they being encouraged to develop their critical thinking skills.

When I was a kid (many years ago) I remember my third grade teacher taking time out to help one student with his math. We were doing fractions and decimals but this guy just didn't get it. He was mildly disruptive and complained that he didn't know why this stuff was important or how he'd use it outside of school. She stopped the class and asked how many were interested in sports. She then explained how to figure batting averages using both fractions and decimals as examples. All of a sudden this guy's eyes lit up and he understood. She went on with other examples of how fractions and decimals were used in our everyday life and why they were important. She even assigned us homework she called "Fractions are our friends" and had us look for fractions and decimals in our everyday life. We wrote papers. More importantly, she changed this guy's life. He actually became pretty good at math because it made sense to him.

It's been over thirty years since that happened but even as a kid I knew that woman was a great teacher. She took the time to engage each one of us in the wonders of math and their practical implications in our day-to-day lives. I don't think she would be able to do that under the NCLB guidelines because of time constraints.

fwiw, after I started attending college (in another state) I used to go back and visit with that teacher. She was an inspiration to me because she cared enough to make sure that there were no children left behind.