No child left behind abandons everyone
multiple choice
Kids aren’t learning. They are memorizing. They aren’t being taught how to think. They are being taught to regurgitate what they have been told, with little understanding of how or why the answer was found.
I think it’s a disaster.
And my kid is falling further and further out of love with school as his classmates struggle to learn the materials that will determine of their beloved teachers stay or go. He’s bored. His teacher has tried to give him extra challenges and set him up in class with special resources for science and reading, but it’s not enough.
I wonder how the kids in first grade — many of them whose first language is not English — are coping with this big literacy/proficiency push. Teachers are sifting through their classrooms, worrying about the kids who will pull their scores down, knock the school into a probationary status.
I’d like to get to a point in my life where I am allowed to volunteer at a school, to help children learn how to read, understand math, whatever I can do. There are so many different ways that children learn: to force them all into memorizing answers for a standardized test is to fail some of our most gifted and talented children whose brains work outside that box. I’d help those kids find a way to do what they have to in a more creative way.
What do you think about this NCLB stuff? Do you think it’s helping or harming our kids??
Someday, I’ll have a job that allows me to volunteer. Until then, I can help my son and his classmates by doing cool things at our house. Baking soda and vinegar, anyone?
I totally agree. As I’ve watched my daughter go through the system (she’s in 11th grade now), I’ve seen kids fall behind in the younger years where the critical learning takes place. I’m sad to see the music and art go. and PE, so important for the little guys, has become an obstatcle in high school.
there are alternatives. I have friends with kids in community school, more of an independent program. not sure if that is for little guys like you have. perhaps some after school programs would help keep him interested and engaged. keep on looking. He’s so lucky to have an attentive mom.
I’ve written many a rant about this, and yes, I totally agree! Things have only gotten worse as so many states are in financial trouble right now. (I live in CA – things are a mess.)
The Boys and Girls Club has been very much a savior for us. The girls get to do arts and go to special events and have homework help. They love it there. If you have one near you, I highly recommend looking into it.
butrflymom — it’s frustrating. I just made a call to a local public charter school. not nearly as easy to get to but heck. It’s a Latin school, and it will go all the way through 12 grade. I hope he is accepted. We can switch with preference because his school is in the first year of probation. Sigh. I love his teacher this year but she’s only one woman, and he needs more challenge.
April, it’s frustrating. Kids are falling through the cracks, bright once and ones who need more teaching to get them up to speed. Kids who learn differently are disenchanted with school. It’s a disaster. And the teachers will fail if they try to force every kid to learn all this info in the same way.
These curriculum changes are especially aggravating to me. My oldest child LIVES for classes like tech ed, art, and music. This year, she lost music and art, takes three types of language arts (English) and doesn’t even have gym class until the last reporting period!
For my youngest child, removal of recess is a punishment. I warned his teacher not to take my son’s playtime away. When he did it anyway then called me to complain later that my son was acting up in his class late in the day, I had to chuckle. Let him vent his energy on the playground or in your classroom. Teacher’s choice…lol.
What’s wrong with these people? I can’t sit still in my comfy office chair for 6 hours, let alone expect a child to do the same in a hard, wooden seat! If I had to go to a hateful job everyday, I would certainly quit LONG before 12 years had elapsed!
I was a music director in public schools for over 25 years. Public schools became non-conducive to the arts because of some of the short sighted initiatives put in place by the state and federal government. It was a losing battle for me. I went back to school for a second masters degree and have embarked on a new career in higher education. More and more teachers like me are finding better avenues for our talents.
Steve, thanks for weighing in. I’m glad you found a better path, but am sad for all t he little kids who don’t get to dance and play the xylophone and integrate their little bodies with the world.
My son’s kindergarten class did their music on computers last year. Each kid at their own terminal with headphones on, clicking around in music-based video games. Sure, he knocked his teacher’s socks off this year when he correctly identified a piece of classical music she played, but he lost out on a whole year of making music, dancing with others, and singing as a group. What a shame.
Regal, I don’t get it either. My son’s teacher is more savvy and just sends my kid on errands around the school when he’s getting bored. What kind of idiot thinks it’s a good idea to take the last outlet for energetic kids away from them?
Grrr.
Makes me wish I could afford private school.
Christina, I was a public school teacher who got a Master’s in Education and is currently working on my PhD in Curriculum and Instruction. I worked in a 100% at-risk school district. I am also one of the few teachers who TOTALLY SUPPORTS NCLB. Let me explain why…. I saw teachers who sat on their desks, reading the newspaper while their kids slept. I saw kids reach the 11th grade and not be able to read or do fractions. I saw kids who teachers would kick out of class every day because the teacher didn’t want to deal with them. Both children and teachers need to be accountable for what the students are learning in class, or you end up with a few great teachers, but mostly crappy ones. And the poorest districts get left with most of the left-over, horrible teachers. Children need to achieve, and need to be tested to make sure teachers are doing their job. Parents need to know what the benchmarks are so they can make sure their child is on track. And administrators need the data to be able to fire the lazy and worthless teachers. There will always be exceptions to the rule, but NCLB has done a great service to education by making everyone in the system accountable. If your child loves music or art, then enroll them in classes or encourage them to have a group of friends that enjoy similar tastes. Your child is actually getting the education we (as taxpayers) have paid for. Time to up the ante! I could go into stories for hours of teachers who loved to teach, but were not teaching what they were supposed to, before NCLB.