The Problem with Education is not Kids

[Leon]

The <a href="http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/esea/">No Child Left Behind Act</a>, the centerpiece of Bush's education policy, calls for states to lose federal education money if a certain percentage of their students do not pass standardized tests. However, Republicans insisted that states be free to establish their own standards. Local control, after all, is a Republican mantra?

The harsh penalties for non-compliance with the law, however, has prompted some states to develop a curious strategy- to ensure that the necessary number of kids pass the tests, states <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/22/education/22EDUC.html">are making the tests easier to pass.</a> (can use globalaffairs1 as username and affairs as password)

Fearing that thousands of students would fail the new test and be held back a grade, and that hundreds of schools could face penalties under the federal No Child Left Behind law, the [Texas State Board of Education] voted to reduce the number of questions that students must answer correctly to pass it, to 20 out of 36, from 24, for third-grade reading.

In this case, however, Texas isn't leading the charge to the bottom. Michigan, which used to require a score of 75% to pass the high school English test, lowered the necessary score to 42%!!!! Colorado now counts students who pass only part of the test the same as students who pass the whole thing. Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Hawai'i are now considering waiving federal money altogether rather than attempt to comply with the law.

Moreover, it's entirely possible that the situation could get worse- the law requires that 100% of students pass the tests by the year 2014. In order to make sure that everybody passes the test, will the test become so easy that anybody could pass it?

If anyone wants to know what's wrong with our kids? Why they can't write? Why they don't enjoy reading, among many other problems? This is definitely one of the problems, at least in my opinion.

[TheHipHopBillGates]

I don't think they should lower their standards. And I support the fact that Florida is making the 13,000 that didnt pass the FCAT goto summer school to graduate. The basic fundamentals you learn when your young carry you threw out your life.

[*~Eleni~*]

Originally posted by TheHipHopBillGates
I don't think they should lower their standards. And I support the fact that Florida is making the 13,000 that didnt pass the FCAT goto summer school to graduate. The basic fundamentals you learn when your young carry you threw out your life.

I agree with Mike..how much lower can we go anyhoot? When it comes to education..the US is really disgusting!

[kiara42]

Its amazing how the mayor is trying to run education like a business. He seems to think as long as there is a good teacher doing her job, that every child will pass. You can have the best teacher, and if that child has no help or has it hard at home you better believe thats going to affect their learning. How many children can you say actually like doing school work and homework? Not too many, and if that child doesn't have the help and guidance from their parents how does he expect they are gonna want to learn. He is not part of our society, he is a rich man , not part of today's working class whose family is dysfyncitonal. By creating that NO Child is to be Left behind, is ignoring the problem again, just as creating a school just for gays. I am begining to realize, he can come up with a quick solution to hide the real problems, so it could look good.

[MsRay]

Originally posted by kiara42
Its amazing how the mayor is trying to run education like a business. He seems to think as long as there is a good teacher doing her job, that every child will pass. You can have the best teacher, and if that child has no help or has it hard at home you better believe thats going to affect their learning. How many children can you say actually like doing school work and homework? Not too many, and if that child doesn't have the help and guidance from their parents how does he expect they are gonna want to learn. He is not part of our society, he is a rich man , not part of today's working class whose family is dysfyncitonal. By creating that NO Child is to be Left behind, is ignoring the problem again, just as creating a school just for gays. I am begining to realize, he can come up with a quick solution to hide the real problems, so it could look good. As Leon wrote above:The No Child Left Behind Act, the centerpiece of Bush's education policyBloomberg had nothing to do with this Act.

And regarding the "gay" school, the Harvey Milk School has been there for many years. It's "opening" was being designated a fully accredited high school and an expansion in how many kids they take.

In both cases, I'm curious to hear what the real problems are and if you have any solutions or ways to solutions in mind.

[*~Eleni~*]

One of my very good friends is a 4th grade teacher in a school in Astoria, Queens. The 3rd grade in her school failed the city tests last year and BADLY, lowest scores in the entire state..mind you this school is located in one of the "best parts" of Astoria..but I digress..last week the principal had the parents of EVERY 4th grade student report to the school at 7:00 pm for testing, he made the parents take the test, so that they can fully comprehend what their child needed to study and prepare them to help their children.

70% of the parents initially declined the "offer"..the principal had his teachers call each and every parent telling them it was not a choice, that they HAD to do it, if they wanted their child to have a shot at passing this year.(they had a better speech prepared ..lol)..most of them cooperated but of course there are those few winners that took that "offensively".

There are principals that sit on their fat asses all day and do nothing, then there are those (like the principal I speak of above)that work their asses off, and TRULY CARE...then theres the parents that are "too busy" and would rather sit home and put their feet up on the coffee table instead of doing something educationally productive to help their child pass a VERY important test...and there are those that sit with their child as much as they can, to help them with their schoolwork...

My point here, is that you cannot place the blame on any one institution, government, politician, etc. This problem is much larger than the government, it starts in the home and lives in so many tiny little schools that you will probably never even know existed. I can sit here and tell you that a major factor children do not study and ace tests is for fear of being "the nerd" or the "geek"..another could be the parents working their asses off to make ends meat that have NO time to pay attention to what their kids are doing afterschool..Bush is just doing it for "appearances sake" if he lowers the standards, we will show a higher percentage of children passing...whats the parents excuse???
the scary part about all of this is that alot parents actually WANT this. You'd be surprised just how many parents would actualy back this "lowering the standards"...I hear countless stories from my teacher friends and family members about parents complaining they are giving too much work, and that its "too hard"....

This country's M.O. is making things as EASY as possible, why should we be any different when it comes to education?

[Dmitry]

Originally posted by *~Eleni~*
One of my very good friends is a 4th grade teacher in a school in Astoria, Queens. The 3rd grade in her school failed the city tests last year and BADLY, lowest scores in the entire state..mind you this school is located in one of the "best parts" of Astoria..but I digress..last week the principal had the parents of EVERY 4th grade student report to the school at 7:00 pm for testing, he made the parents take the test, so that they can fully comprehend what their child needed to study and prepare them to help their children.

70% of the parents initially declined the "offer"..the principal had his teachers call each and every parent telling them it was not a choice, that they HAD to do it, if they wanted their child to have a shot at passing this year.(they had a better speech prepared ..lol)..most of them cooperated but of course there are those few winners that took that "offensively".

There are principals that sit on their fat asses all day and do nothing, then there are those (like the principal I speak of above)that work their asses off, and TRULY CARE...then theres the parents that are "too busy" and would rather sit home and put their feet up on the coffee table instead of doing something educationally productive to help their child pass a VERY important test...and there are those that sit with their child as much as they can, to help them with their schoolwork...

My point here, is that you cannot place the blame on any one institution, government, politician, etc. This problem is much larger than the government, it starts in the home and lives in so many tiny little schools that you will probably never even know existed. I can sit here and tell you that a major factor children do not study and ace tests is for fear of being "the nerd" or the "geek"..another could be the parents working their asses off to make ends meat that have NO time to pay attention to what their kids are doing afterschool..Bush is just doing it for "appearances sake" if he lowers the standards, we will show a higher percentage of children passing...whats the parents excuse???
the scary part about all of this is that alot parents actually WANT this. You'd be surprised just how many parents would actualy back this "lowering the standards"...I hear countless stories from my teacher friends and family members about parents complaining they are giving too much work, and that its "too hard"....

This country's M.O. is making things as EASY as possible, why should we be any different when it comes to education?

Well said Schmoops! I think the parents didn't want to take the test not only because they were lazy but I think they were afraid that they might fail the test themselves.

[darius]

i don't have any sort of elaborate solution, and i don't want to get caught up in a bunch of bureaucratic bullshit that the administration feeds the public on this matter -- all that just does is confuse as many people as possible, as long as you can, which has been the US government policy on education for DECADES. the simple fact of the matter is that education, from the grass roots on up, is no longer a responsibility left to those with kids, or left to just teachers and administrators. children's education is a task worthy of all of our support, whether we have kids or we don't, because at the very least, we all have someone in our lives in grade school that we love and care for deeply. i'm not asking any of us to go out and make a difference in an entire classroom full of kids (hell, if u want to, that would be great), but maybe just 1 or 2 kids -- people close to us. let's face it, many parents just aren't getting the job done, and like others mentioned, its not solely about having good teachers and principals, a lot of it has to do with the influences in the home and generally outside of school. i'm not gonna sit here and spell out the specifics of what you can do to help. i'm sure if you put your mind to it, you can come up with some way to lend a helping hand. education isn't just about learning to read and learning to add, subtract, solve differential equations, etc . . . there is a moral element involved. that moral element is the gel that holds the rest of that stuff together. its the work-ethic, the sense of responsibility, the ability to focus and pay attention, etc, etc, etc. the problem with this particular "No Child Left Behind" bullshit, is that its a lot of harping about facts and figures and not enough straight talk about what the REAL issues are behind the lack of educational success in many parts of the country. sure, having hard-working, dedicated teachers and administrators is important, but the real deal is what extends beyond the walls of the school. just some food for thought.

[woo]

i feel kids can't concentrate on school b/c of the market influence.
it's hard to focus if u have distractions and g0d knows this country leads the planet with distractions.
take something as simple as having the least # of school days per year. school hours are not dominant in occupying a child's life. therefore, there is too much leeway for legitimate excuses to take the blame.

[TheHipHopBillGates]

Originally posted by woOman
i feel kids can't concentrate on school b/c of the market influence.
it's hard to focus if u have distractions and g0d knows this country leads the planet with distractions.
take something as simple as having the least # of school days per year. school hours are not dominant in occupying a child's life. therefore, there is too much leeway for legitimate excuses to take the blame.

I agree, US education systems are weak. The only reason our country is such a force is the fact that we were the only country left with an intact infrastructure after World War 2.