READ THIS, DAMN IT (please)

[teacher gal]

http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/2008/04/dropout-explosion-wonder-how-come_08.html

[midnight]

1. One sentence says it all. No child left behind.

In the place of support, care, and compassion, we have now substituted a tough guy, no excuses, zero tolerance, all business, blame the victim approach to schooling. Thanks teacher gal. It is tough on both parents, and the teachers.

[teacher gal]

2. Very tough on little children

like my special education students who are expected to perform at the same level as their nondisabled peers. Students with IQs in the 60s must take the same grade level standardized tests as their regular education peers. And of course if they don't perform at "grade level" or score "proficient", schools and teachers are to blame.

[Rosemary2205]

14. I would like to hug you repeatedly.

I have been struggling with how to explain to a co-worker, who is generally apolitical BTW, why NCLB is so awful. I thank you mightily for the simple paragraph in this post -- Your OP is fine, but this post in particular just boils it right down.

Thanks.

[teacher gal]

30. here's a hug

for you too Rosemary

[lastliberalintexas]

24. My aunt has taught for more than 30 years, and now

only waits until she can retire. She's been in tears over the last year because her school's special ed students have to take the Texas TAKS or whatever the new acronym is this year. Her comment was that there is a reason those children are in special ed to begin with, and it's only damaging them further and hurting their self-confidence by forcing them to take a test they are doomed to fail. :(

Not to mention the fact that she now has no time at all to even attempt to teach her advanced students, and barely can pay attention to the average kids. Her efforts almost exclusively now must go to try to help students who are 3 grade levels below her class try to pass a test they were never meant to take.


Even though I am from a family of teachers (my grandmother, aunt, 2 great aunts, and several cousins), my aunt has convinced me to put my child in private school. I feel like an incredible hypocrite in some ways, but then, I don't support the politicians who support NCLB. You teachers now have the hardest job in the world.


On edit- The private school is an option in Texas because our private schools are not required to implement the TAKS test. I assume that private schools elsewhere have similar exemption under NCLB. It's also terribly ironic that conservatives constantly point to private schools as the beacon for education, but then allow only them the educational freedom which would permit our public schools to flourish as well.

[tbyg52]

53. Testing special ed to the same level and at the same time completely exempting private schools....

Sounds like a great plan to destroy the public school system to me.

PS - You're not the last liberal in Texas, since I am here as well.... ;)

[roguevalley]

27. our special ed kids were included on our lists and when we would

take the standardized tests IN SEPTEMBER BEFORE WE EVEN GOT TO TEACH THE SKILL!!!!, they would be added into our class averages. Kids with serious deficits and posting about 5% on a standardized test being scored in with 99%. And you wonder why teachers drink so much.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. My oldest almost dropped out, a Nat. Guard program helped him get his diploma..

My middle son has lost all hope in a fruitful future. He's smart enough to see that things are going downhill, and he's scared.. and stuck in depression. He dropped out of HS cause it bored him more than it bored me (and I dropped out too).

My youngest is still in school, on a modified school/work program that is unfortunately doing nothing to actually educate him, and he sees that.

It seems like the whole education system has fallen apart in the last 15 years. (They stopped teaching Phonics right when my oldest started school).

I'm watching the country I grew up in crumble all around me, how can I blame them for being discouraged about their future prospects?

I try to teach them street smarts, common sense type stuff that might help them get through the next few years. I don't know if it's going to be enough. :(

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

4. NCLB was based on the "Houston Miracle" which talked kids into dropping out so

the statistics for the program would look better.

[teacher gal]

7. Exactly

NCLB is now wreaking the same destruction nationwide that occurred in Texas with the Houston Miracle, on which Bush, the "Education President" first campaigned. A colossal scam.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

46. Do you know when NCLB sunsets? I know there has been a great deal of disagreement on its

renewal. What I find odd is that Ted Kennedy, last time I heard, was still supporting it.

One personal note on it. My younger son had a problem with small motor coordination and was given permission in his school for extended time and use of a word processor on all of his tests, Except he couldn't do it for the NCLB testing. That was another way to insure that the schools would get lower scores. Lower scores, less funding those schools. BTW..my son did well on the tests despite this.

There are a lot of inequities in schools, the first in my mind is that the wealthier school districts spend more money on their schools/students, and I know here in Westchester Co. NY, where I live, the more affluent districts have a much higher rate of students going on to college with much higher SAT scores. We have lost our best teachers to those districts because their salary levels are much higher. Either it be done on a federal, state or county level, there should be equal funding for students across the board, except in the case of areas that have been impoverished, those schools should be given funding above in order to get them on track. In those areas especially, Head Start and pre-kindergarten schooling should also be given, and created in such a way that it meshes with working parents' schedules.

[lastliberalintexas]

26. The Houston Miracle was also based on lies

Administrators and teachers were forced to alter test scores, wrongfully help students take the tests, and give students answers or copies of the tests prior to test days. Ron Brown and his ilk are slimy pieces of you know what, and should be forbidden from influencing education policy ever again.

http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript238_full.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/06/60II/main591676.shtml

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

45. Based on that frigging lie, students, teachers, school districts have been suffering under unfair

burdens, working in a Catch-22 situation. Why NCLB is being considered for renewed is beyond me...

[Cerridwen]

5. CAPS work, too.

:D

Kicking and reading and recommending.

[smokey nj]

6. K&R!

[SalmonChantedEvening]

8. Following another Truthseeker's lead. K&R

This is tantamount to sabotage.

[teacher gal]

9. To all of you

who are kicking and recommending, thank you so much. I'm going to be online until very late tonight working on IEPs for my special education students and will check on this thread periodically - and it sure would be great if it could get more kicks and recs from others helping to keep it "up there".

[teacher gal]

10. Gotta keep on kicking n/t

[SalmonChantedEvening]

20. bedtime kick!!

:hi: :hug:

[pengillian101]

11. READ THIS, DAMN IT (please)

This is not a compelling reason to read a limk --- It's a childish post when it's in all caps.

[teacher gal]

12. Thank you

for your highly qualified opinion.

[rwheeler31]

16. There is Education and greed.

[Cerridwen]

23. Yet, you read it. n/t

[teacher gal]

28. Cerridwen

Just wanted to say 'thanks'.

[Cerridwen]

29. teacher gal

You are most welcome.

:hi:

I notice the CAPS helped a bit. :D Good on ya!

[Burma Jones]

31. Link has an "n"

see, I can be a dweeb too........it's easy

[teacher gal]

33. he he

I was gonna let him/her off the hook for that!

[Lint Head]

13. This installed president has put this country in danger and should

be thrown into jail.:dem:

[Rosemary2205]

15. Lint head.

sorry, I just wanted to call someone a lint head. LOL

Love the nick. :)

[samsingh]

17. begging will get you somewhere

[teacher gal]

35. Beggars

can be very persistent.

[samsingh]

43. that's what makes it worthwhile

[bdamomma]

18. kick

[teacher gal]

19. thank you n/t

[teacher gal]

21. Just wanted to say

that I realize my subject line for this thread in all caps is indeed rather childish (see comment #11 from pengillian101) and does sound like "begging" - but it is borne out of real frustration over how difficult it is to get education threads much attention.

So again, for those of you contributing, thank you!

[Harry Monroe]

22. I READ IT, DAMN IT (THANK YOU)

And it was spot on about what is wrong with our education system today.

[teacher gal]

25. Ha...thank you! n/t

[lonestarnot]

32. keep fighting!

[FourScore]

34. k&r. Thanks for posting. n/t

[Greyhound]

36. Another K & R.

Can we change course in time? We've already lost 3 or 4 generations, and I'm not sure how much more we can afford, if any.
:kick: & R

[teacher gal]

37. Hey, thank you! n/t

[YvonneCa]

38. Thanks for the link...

teachergal. It's awful what is happening in public schools.

[teacher gal]

39. Thanks Yvonne

Appreciate you.

[Subdivisions]

40. Sorta ties in to the discussion here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3129971&mesg_id=3129971

We've got to do something.

[teacher gal]

41. Very interesting

Thank you for that link.

[Subdivisions]

42. You're very welcome. As a teacher, what are your thoughts

about these references?

[teacher gal]

44. Gotta be honest with you

I have not read "The Passive American" but boy do I want to now!

The passages in the link you provided describe so well the oppression and control teachers and students are experiencing in our schools. We are being policed beyond belief, stripped of independent thought, autonomy, creativity. Still, many teachers manage to inject some joy and creativity DESPITE NCLB and high-stakes testing. I wish I had much, much more time to discuss - I've been simultaneously working online on IEPs tonight along with trying to keep this thread up!

Gatto - I've read some of his material and do agree with quite a lot of it, though not all.

Thank you again Texas Explorer.

[teacher gal]

47. Just another

kick as I head out the door. Good day to all.

[Silver Gaia]

48. Just K&R'd your other thread on this topic...

will do so here for you, too. This is important. Thanks for these threads, teacher gal.

[il_lilac]

49. k&r

and thank you

[caseycoon]

50. K&R This program is so totally BAD n/t

[eppur_se_muova]

51. "300 nights remaining in one of America's longest political nightmares"

Damn, that is forceful writing. Obviously he was educated under the old system -- you know, the one we're throwing out.

[DemReadingDU]

52. afternoon kick

[Lydia Leftcoast]

54. A lot of retired teachers

go to the gym at the same time I do, and many of them took early retirement as soon as they were eligible, because "teaching isn't what it used to be." There's more pressure and fewer resources, more students and they're less well-behaved.

[seasat]

55. Their agenda is to destroy public education and McCain strongly supports it.

I posted this the other day and it didn't get too many views. McCain He stated that he's consulted with Jeb Bush regularly over the years in regard to education policy. He wants to take the extremist antieducation policies put out by Jebbie in my state to the national level.