Examining No Child Left Behind

Posted by Douglas Parker May 25, 2008

Note: This is the second blog in a series of three critiquing the No Child Left Behind Act.

… math teachers had slipped into a new dimension of paper and scan sheets where instead of leading the boys and girls to the heights of their potential, they were struggling mightily to survive.

She had done the best she could with what little money they had, but her school existed in a state that held high standards for its students, and even though the children were on a par with those in states around hers, they simply couldn’t keep up with the yearly progress levels they were expected to make. And as a result, their funding had suffered.

Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but the teacher reminisced about when she was a little girl and her teachers had taken her by the hand to safely navigate the perils of long division and quadratic equations. Maybe some educational leader would come along and once again take her by the hand and guide her to the place where learning and reasoning were still valued.

But instead of a leader, it was the young boy who had put down his pencil and ventured forward to meet his teacher. She could tell that the boy had been upset by his reddened eyes, but then he presented as calm and assured.

“What is it, son,” the teacher asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the other students. “You know that the rules state that you cannot leave your seat during the test.”

“The answer does not exist here,” the boy answered. “You need a sense of belonging some place away from this school.”

“But, what must we do?” she asked a quivering voice.