Candidates avoiding No Child Left Behind

[proud2BlibKansan]

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No Child Left Behind has been used as a weapon by those who are seeking to put public money into private schools and by those who are seeking to make a quick buck off education- the virtual school companies, the testing companies, and companies like Edison Schools, that offer to take over the operation of public schools.

When the issue has been discussed, we have wrongly accepted some things as truths which never should have been accepted. For instance:

-We keep hearing about all of these tests which show the U. S. lagging in comparison to other countries. Why doesn't anyone ever mention that we are talking about a country that guarantees everyone access to public schools, including those who would not ever receive the opportunity in these other countries. We are also being compared to countries which choose which students should receive further educational training and guide other students out of the system and into the workplace.

-For the most part, people have not been noting what the definition of proficiency is. If we are talking about students making a B grade, which is the case in Missouri, how realistic is that? To expect every student to have at least a B average is something out of science fiction and is totally unrealistic. That is not going to happen by 2014 or by 2100.

-Assuming that the problems in education can be handled by the education community alone is also unrealistic. Many of the problems facing students have nothing whatsoever to do with school. Students have to deal with poverty, all kinds of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, parents with drug and alcohol problems, in other words, all kinds of baggage from their home lives that make it difficult, if not impossible to concentrate on schoolwork.

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The goal of No Child Left Behind is a lofty one, and as anyone who has received an education, whether it be from a public school, a private school, or from the school of hard knocks knows, it is an impossible one to achieve. It is time for this law to vanish forever.

more . . .

http://rturner229.blogspot.com/2008/09/candidates-avoiding-no-child-left.html

[MichiganVote]

1. This law is such a joke. I believe in accountability but this is just institutional discriminiation.

[ulysses]

2. they're going to keep avoiding it, too.

:thumbsdown:

[LWolf]

3. Great piece; thanks for sharing.

We know why they are both avoiding it; it's a bipartisan disaster that no one wants to be accountable for.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. That blogger is a teacher

I have really enjoyed his blog. He posts some great stuff.

[goddess40]

4. McCain thinks it's great and Obama knows it's to complicated

to reduce to sound bites - that would be my best guess. Face it, most American's are either too lazy or stupid to understand just how bad this is and McCain would spin it that it's helping by holding schools accountable and it would take a lot of explanation to get people to understand how it's doing nothing but destroying public education.

The head of Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA)Miles Turner, couldn't get the republican's in our state to understand it. A republican senator was asking about changes the WASDA would like to see made to NCLB and when the answer was that the whole law should be thrown out the senator tried to say some changes would be better than none.
Miles said something to the effect of "Are you asking if I think a half a loaf of bread is better than none?"
Senator "Yes."
Miles retort was "Not if the loaf is moldy"

I've told this story before but Mr. Turner said it so well that it bears repeating.