Although the purpose of this blog is not to discuss the “No Child Left Behind” initiative, I think that this form of legislation has a huge impact on the success of our children. Having said that, I reviewed this article by Marc Fisher that addresses the ever widening crack NCLB leaves behind. It is a fact that teachers do not teach in vacuum, and as hard as we try to equalize education for all students, it is necessary to individualize their education to meet their specific needs.
No Child Left Behind is built on a lie. Not every kid will go to college, no matter what you do. So you can either lower the standards enough to pretend that everyone is succeeding, or give up on the lie.
Even though these words are tough, I think that they ring true to the situation of some students. The authors words expose us to another aspect of NCLB. Are we doing our students any favors by allowing our testing standards to be set so low? I remember how remedial the classes were that were manditory for all students. I remember how many of the teachers did “everything possible” to make sure that it wasn’t their class that prevented a students from graduating
Unfortunately for everyone involved, there is too much at stake. The students lose knowledge, the administrators lose money, and the test loses credibility.
Staking everything on a test doesn’t produce a flowering of inspired teaching
Requiring teachers to produce such significant results limits their abilities to teach beyond the test. It is unfortunate that the government has waved the financial “carrot” in front of those responsible for the education of our young people. The financially strapped districts need the bonuses offered by the steady improvement of their schools to increase and support their budgets. Need facilitates the choice to reduce the demands of required classes for students.
So where does this leave students who struggle academically?
The theory is that somehow, when told the exact number of children who are lagging in achievement, teachers will agree to render the magic that they have thus far withheld and — poof! — those kids will become smart, cooperative and productive.
Obviously, this is not what happens. But these students are Left behind simply by ignoring their needs and “dumbing down” the information required for graduation. The implications of this article require us to take a hard look at the disservice we are doing to our students. Is it better to pass them without the knowledge they need? Aren’t they still falling through the educational cracks?
Very few (if any) educators will admit that there are a few ….Ha Ha Ha!!– problems with NCLB; however, the idea that manipulating the degree of difficulty assigned to a course in order to pass a student is not a valid answer to the NCLB problem. It is our job to prepare our students for the “real” world using real information. Our students have enough trouble developing the skills necessary for literacy and critical thinking, by not providing a solid knowledge base, we are truly adding to the problem of students graduating without the skills they need.
In Fairfax’s ‘No Child’ Fight, A Refusal to Leave Children Behind
By Marc FisherClick here to read the complete article.
