Specter
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Re:Hey micpi - reform to NCLB! - 2007/03/20 20:24
Not sure where to start Thorgs.
NCLB was the big educational reform put through by Bush early on. It was a system of statndardized testing at virtually every grade level. My spouse and I have been involved in education for a long time (spouse: 25 years, me: 17 years). We have both worked (spouse much, much more) in the design of curricula for K-12. The fact is that standardized testing does give some data, but our education system should not be based on it. There are just too many children who are great with testing of this nature, and children who can't show what they know on this kind of test. What NCLB does is treat every child as being the same in being able to test on knowledge and that just does not reflect reality.
I am a Bush supporter, but NCLB (No Child Left Behind) is one very large mistake on his part and on the part of the federal government. The more we force standardized testing, the more the curriculum will be directed at simply passing the test (i.e. if not enough kids pass the district loses money). This absolutely ignores the old tried and true methods of teaching. It takes away initiative to let kids learn at their own pace.
As much as I am down on teachers, I also understand the reality of mandated objectives. These objectives have been forced on teachers from the local, state, aned now federal levels. There are so many mandates about what must be covered, that the teachers have lost the ability to spend individual time with students. Students that don't get it first pass are simply left behind to struggle and fall further behind - and includes the loss of self-esteem and self-confidence that goes along with all of that. This lack of inventiveness in teaching will simply lead to more and more and more. It is a self-destructive cycle.
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Talk atya L8r,
Specter
The public will believe anything, so long as it is not founded on truth. - Edith Sitwell (1887 - 1964); SHARE (2005 - ) |
Specter (1116)
