No Child Left Behind

It's only July and the media is already bombarding us with political fights. 90% of advertisments are already political ads, and it will just get worse. Before you get too sick of all the politics, I encourage you to do a little bit of research on an issue that tends to get a lot of hand-waving - Education.

Ask a politician where they stand on education. "I'm a big supporter of education" is the response you are most likely to hear. You may even hear "I would send more money to schools."

What we need is a lot more than money. Instead, take a look a the programs our schools are forced into these days. Prime example - No Child Left Behind.

Have you heard about this program? Bush himself called it "the cornerstone of my administration." Sure, the concept is fabulous. Every child will receive an excellent and complete education. How? Schools are rewarded based on yearly improvement of their students.

There are several problems with the philosophy behind this program. All children are not the same. All children do not have the same learning capability. All parents aren't equally supportive of their children.

Furthermore, the math doesn't add up. How can students improve every year for eternity? Logically, for this to happen the students at a particular grade level must get smarter every year. Are childrens that start school in 2004 smarter than children who started school in 1994? Do they have more capabilities of learning? What happens when the school gets to the top of the bell curve?

Also, a consequence of this program is that instead of a focus on learning material for a grade level, the focus is on material to take the end-of-year test. Teachers are teaching only what is likely to be on the test. What about everything else?

Lastly, there are children slipping through the cracks regardless of the program. Say you have Child A who is extremely bright. Child B is in the same class and is, well, not so bright. For the program to work, the teacher must teach at the level of Child B, so he doesn't get left behind. Child A? Well, my friends, he is left behind. Left behind to no longer be challenged in class. Yes, disadvantaged children have the focus like never before, but what about everyone else?

Let's take it a step further. Say Child C is also in the class. Child C likes to cut up and could care less about learning. His parents don't pay attention to all the negative feedback sent home by the teacher. In order to make the class a success, the teacher has to pass him. What's the justice in that? How does Child C learn the consequence of his actions? What motivates him to be a better student?

Education is a lot more than taking a test every year and making sure that every child passes. In my book, this program fails.