This article written by Diana Jean Schemo raised many points about the education system and how it is in dire need of change. Article below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/education/16child.html?ex=1193198400&en=0db7921503e02bc1&ei=5070&emc=eta1
My sister is an elementary school teacher and always talks to me about her kids passing the FCAT. Michelle (my sister) teaches in a big school back at home in Miami where not only does she have 25 students but students that speak 5 different languages as a first language as well as different religions, and economic backgrounds. The significance to this is the No Child law in my opinion often forgets about the 'new' America. We are now a country that has more diversity then every, yet we want to live by one set of standards. This law is fine and dandy to me for the upper class rural neighborhoods across America, but what about the cities like L.A in the article and Miami.
Teachers are so pressured into teaching what might be on the state exam instead of just teaching and letting the the class and instructor facilitate the learning environment. Schools under this act that are threatened to close down or allow students to transfer does not remedy the problem one bit. By sending these students to better schools is this going to make them learn better...NO! In my opinion its going to be just like the mother in the article said when her son was not learning something and the teacher responded, "You're slow" rather than going over the material again. These students will bring down the learning in the classrooms of the better schools that is why they don't want then either.
What is the answer? The answer is to first put more money into schools with better teachers (better paid), better teaching tools (books, desks, school supplies), and a state that backs them rather than places an exam at the end of the year that is supposed to apparently rank them. After six years in east LA where not even one in five students can do grade level math in high school it is quite obvious that this No Child act is doing no good at all, the only thing I see it doing is displacing students all over their neighborhoods.
Marvin
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2 comments:
I agree that the No Child Left behind is doing no good. I think that since the act itself is not implemented it does an injustice. it calls to reconstruct schools when they are failing, get new teachers or minimum better the ones that are there, and if they are failing they have the option to go else where, but that in itself isn't realistic. I am not sure what the solution is, but I know that the current one is not working.
No Child left behind is a bunch of crock.
No child is being left behind, yet the schools that need assistance fail to get it because they didn't pass the FCAT. On top of that there is no individual attention from teachers, because of lack of teachers available. Marvin's correct in saying we have forgot about the diverse america. How can we not leave children behind, when half the children in southern florida don't speak english?
On top of that, the lesson plans for 8th and 10th graders are focused strictly on the FCAT. Teachers are so pressured into preparing their students for the FCAT, real learning is forgotten.
So is the No Child left behind working?
NO! How can we pass a child who doesn't have the skills to be in the next grade?
We do them more damage.
And in doing this we are leaving more children behind than before.
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