My girlfriend is a social worker for elementary grade students. She would echo many of the things expressed here.
There is good and bad in the No Child Left behind (like anything else.) Some teachers are just there, drawing the paycheck, putting in the minimum. Others really love what they are doing and earn every penny they are paid.
Ditto for the parents. That's probably the biggest variable, and programs like NCLB do nothing about the parental issue.
Like it or not, mom and dad are still the biggest influence on a child. So, a good teacher is fighting a losing battle if mom and dad don't give a rat's patootie about education.
I know Cindy says her school feeds some kids three meals each day. The kids arrive early for breakfast, get a school lunch, and if the are involved in the afterschool teaching programs, there is dinner.
Some of those kids don't eat that well during the summer. ( But mom and dad have Camels and Bud
)
So while I like the idea of improving education, and having great teachers, weeding out the mediocre ones who are just getting by, how do you actually do it.
NCLB simply sets standards, and the standards were set pretty high. I think part of that was an effort to catch up. But after listening to a few others speak about it, it seems the high standards were set to ensure failure. Sorta like, See Mr. President, this program doesn't work.
IIRC, the states have a big say in setting the standards and testing policies.
There are no easy answers. I still think a lot of school districts are spending a lot of money and not getting results. If I pull the "report card" for East St. Louis, and compare the per-pupil spending and staff qualifications to the rural school district where I grew up, I see more money spent and lower standardized test scores and graduation rates.
So it seems money is not the answer.
I do think parents are the key. But how do you create a program that considers that? What do you do, ground the parents of they don't bring Johnny to school, or don't encourage/make him do his algebra homework?
