Education:                                                                       Back

No Child left behind: Do you think it really works? Texas had standardized tests for years, yet it had one of the lowest collage acceptance levels in the U.S.  Why?

No child left behind requires teachers to prepare students to pass tests, not to solve problems. Passing a test isn't the same as writing a thesis.

You can give a man a fish and he wont be hungry but if you teach how to fish he won't be hungry for as long as there are fish in his lake. Now teach him how to think and even if all the fish in the lake die he'll be able to figure out how to hunt.

If were going to test someone, let's test the teachers. One of our largest problems is teachers who are qualified (Even excellent in English) being moved, because of a vacancy, to the science department. You now have a teacher who is studying science as they are teaching that science to the students. Bad for the teacher worse for the students.

These are some reasons to change the No Child Left Behind Act. but let's look at some others. 1. It has been extremely under funded by the the National Government, leaving the states to pick up the cost (Another effect of the tax break for the wealthy.) Have you noticed any increase in your school taxes lately. Oh well! so much for your tax break. 2. The charter schools, that George Bush raved about, have recently tested lower then the the public schools. 3. taking money out of the public school system to give school vouchers will hurt the public schools.

If we really want to improve education we should 1. reduce class size 2. Make the necessary repairs to the schools themselves 3. reduce the work load on teachers by hiring enough teachers to do the job. (A good idea might be to hire college students, majoring in education, to tutor slower students it would help the college student pay for his/her education and it would help teachers & their students.) there are a lot of other things we could do but I have to get back to the election. I'll try to add more when I get the time.

Let's take the time to be involved with our children's education. I can't think of a better place to volunteer our time. Every one of has something to offer. You take a vacation to an exotic location. Most middle schools would be glad to have you speak to your child's class or may even gather a few classes together. You could, maybe, bring some props  i.e. religious artifacts. (In Bali they use masks, have statues of Hindu deities, etc. Thailand has statues of Buddha. you get the idea.) Or how about items from nature. (Shells, minerals, fossils etc. When I came back from Bali I brought some sand from one of their black beaches. The girls couldn't wait to take it to show & tell.) Items of clothing etc. It's a good way to teach kids about other cultures, something we as Americans sorely need.

On Feb. 21st in Townsend, Tennessee George Bush said. "Teach a child to read and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test." Is this the kind of education you want for your children? # 1. His grammar is horrendous & # 2. and more importantly. Passing a literacy test, in and of itself, is not the criteria of a good education. What is important is the ability to think freely & the knowledge of where & how to gather information. Literacy is only a small (Though important) part of the of things we need to teach our children.

Aug. 17th: In new testing children in public schools did better in all categories then children in charter schools. Weren't Charter Schools part of George Bush's better education plan?

Aug. 19th: I read an editorial by William F. Buckley, in it he was touting vouchers for private & religious school. My question to him, and anybody who believes they are a good idea, is. Where do you think the money for vouchers would come from? I'll tell you. It will come out of the public school budget, thereby lowering the quality of our public schools. As for private non-religious schools if you want that for your child, then pay for it. Now let's talk about religious schools. Teaching religion to children is a great thing but you can teach them at home, church, on in Sunday School. The values gained in these places are more profound. I don't know about you but I don't want my tax money to go to Islamic Madrasas and remember that if we fund, say, Catholic Schools then Islamic tax payers have the same rights. As would Hindus, Buddhist, and any other religion. This would separate and isolate the cultural & religious groups and make the  understanding of each other even less. We, if we are going to live together, have to learn to understand one another. Vouchers aren't the way to accomplish this goal.

Dec. 10th. 2004: (CNN) WASHINGTON (AP) -- Compared with their peers in Europe, Asia and elsewhere, U.S. 15-year-olds are below average when it comes to applying math skills to real-life tasks, new test scores show. Among 29 industrialized countries, the United States scored below 20 nations and above five in math. The U.S. performance was about the same as Poland, Hungary and Spain. So much for no child left behind. It's been in effect for over three years & this is the result?

Check out this site to see what the Clinton Administration did about Education in America. You may be surprised.

I'm sure I'll think of more information on this subject.