A Generation Even More Behind

A Generation Even More Behind
by First Lady

As a public educator, I am faced with the inadequacies of our unjust public education system on a daily basis. I witness, all too often, the mechanical teaching of obedience, conformity and test taking skills. I see the frustration on teachers' faces when the "vessels" WON'T open up and let the information in. I hear the familiar statements in the staff lounge: "I know that's going to be on the state test and he's NOT going to get it", "You know, I am responsible for her score on the state test and she doesn't even care. She's too busy playing with her pencil to PAY ATTENTION!"

In the 7 years that I have been teaching and advocating for children with exceptionalities, I have been privileged to work with a few creative, passionate educators who allow for discovery-based learning and the evolution of ideas and critical thinking through discussion. These teachers have inspired and fueled just a few of the deserving youth who have passed through their classrooms on the journey that seems predetermined. A philosophical change is necessary in order for public education to serve the people as people, not as compliant workers. President Bush is determined to push public education in just the opposite direction by enforcing the act entitled "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB).

According to President Bush, the "No Child Left Behind" act was written to ensure that all American children reach proficiency in the areas of reading and math. This is how it works: standards for teachers and instructional assistants (IA's) are raised, which means more schooling, tests and forms for teachers and a required 2 year degree for IA's in certain schools. Educators will need to narrow their focus and teach scripted lessons in reading and math that will lead pupils to the correct answers on state tests. Public schools must administer a standardized test to all students in grades 3,5,8 and 10. The results of this test will be reported on a yearly basis to the federal and state governments, along with the public. The results include statistics on scores, race, gender and impacting disabilities. If all students do not meet the standards, their school is labeled as a "poorly performing" school. The administration is then given a short period of time to enable the entire student body to demonstrate proficiency in the test areas. At this point, parents have alternate choices. They can choose to enroll their child at a high performing school, request a voucher for charter school tuition, receive reimbursement for homeschooling or they can continue to have their child attend the neighborhood school that is failing. If the latter is chosen, students who are failing are entitled to supplemental education in order to secure equal access to curriculum. The supplemental instruction can vary from tutoring and afterschool remedial classes to faith-based community programs. When a school continues to fall into the low performance category, it is subsequently closed and the choices listed above become mandated alternatives. The inevitable product is privatized education for all.

A few areas of fault....

Funding:
States are struggling to maintain the programs that are currently in effect. Oregon could not afford to keep children in school for the full school year Sept. 2002- June 2003. The opportunities outlined in NCLB are simply out of reach for states without full federal funding. At the time NCLB took effect, federal funds were designated to allow schools to meet these requirements, yet much of the monies have since been relinquished. Perhaps states will lower their standards, passing all students, so that they can afford public education.

Social Issues
Western thought has a tendency to look at the problematic symptoms that must be alleviated rather than examining underlying causes that will continue to produce similar outcomes. NCLB would recommend the exchange of the arts, sciences and social studies for a full day of math and scripted phonics lessons in order to boost so-called performance. I suggest that the proponents of NCLB consider poverty, nutrition, housing, unemployment, and preschooling before taking all of the creativity and thought provoking studies out of the schools. Science understands that people, especially children, are unable to concentrate and process information when they are hungry or ill. When housing and employment become family issues, homework help may need to be put on hold. Research continually supports the effectiveness of early childhood intervention for youth who are "at risk," or poor. However, President Bush, is currently advocating that funds allocated for Head Start be available for other programs. [Head Start being a national public preschool program that is responsible for substantial impact on the children who have been so fortunate as to qualify for the services.]

Testing of All Students
This includes students impacted by disabilities as well as English Language Learners who may have just moved to the US. At the time NCLB was written, all students had to pass the state tests. Reauthorization has granted school districts somewhat of a disability allowance of 1% of the school population. That is, now it is okay to leave behind the 1% of children who are most severely impacted by disabilities. They do not have to pass, but they MUST take the test. To some, it would seem cruel and even unusual to judge a persons intellect on their control of a foreign language to which they have not yet been exposed. Perhaps this is what it feels like when a student who is so severely impacted by mental retardation, a brain injury or autism that they are nonverbal or a nonreader, is tested at grade level. However absurd, they must take the test so that we can measure their progress. To the credit of Oregon, a leading state in the testing of students with disabilities, there is an opportunity in certain states for a few students to have appropriate alternative assesments. Either way, the 1% allowance does not account for the other 9%, on average, of students with disabilities. The 10% rule is generally accepted and state governments typically forcast a special education budget that will be allocated to 10% of students. A proficient third grader should be able to tell you that this math does not add up.

"Fast Food" Chain Education
The narrow focus on specific math and reading scores creates a strict recipe for the transfer of information. Teachers will be forced to leave behind everything that experience has concluded and accept a scripted lesson as a means of communicating with children. NCLB discounts reading for pleasure, whole-language based instruction and creative writing while maintaining that education can be packaged and predicatable, almost franchised, if you will. Uniformity among the next generation... every 1st grade class will be learning to decode consonant-vowel-consonant words beginning with the letter d at the same time. Imagine, all third graders will learn how to multiply 5 times 5 using the same manipulatives on the very same day. Homework...the possibilities! It is clear that having high expectations for all students is not synonomous with having the same expectations for all children, unless, of course, you want a generation that does not know how to question or problem solve but simply compute numerals and read instructions.

Which Organizations Will We Pay toTeach the Children of Poorly Performing Schools?

Faith Based Community Groups- According to a ruling in Clevland in June 2002, parental choice negates the separation of church and state. There is a faith-based group providing supplemental instruction to students under a contract with parents and the school district. It's impact is fairly minor at this point, serving only a few students. However, it has paved the way toward larger portions of public monies spent for private, religious education.

Corporate Sponsored Charter Schools- Charter schools fall victim to corporations offering to sponser the school if the administration agrees to use curriculum developed by the parent company. One example of a corporate school is The Edison Project, a private school management company. Founded by Chris Whittle, of Whittle Publishing Company, it now operates 150 schools across the US. Many of these schools are charter schools under contract with the local school districts. As you would expect, the curriculum is a product of Whittle Publishing Company. The company boasts the use of "corporate managing strategies" to run the Edison schools.

Homeschoolers- I am not discounting homeschooling, only asking that the targets are aware that the homeschool curriculum companies are seriously marketing. Companies like Bill Bennett's K12.com have much to gain in convincing parents to use public school money for homeschool curriculum. There are currently 1.5 million homeschoolers who are managing to afford their instructional expenses. This is apt to change.

No Child Left Behind took effect in January of 2002, giving schools a couple of years to make sure that most employees had a chance to meet the requirements and the kids had plenty of time to think about the testing of the future. You will begin hearing more and more about it as the deadlines arrive and the schools fail. Please do something.

A recent letter to Senator Ron Wyden, submitted by the Superintendent of Lake Oswego Schools, William Korach, Ed.D and School Board Chair of LOSD, Linda Brown, was concluded with the following statement. "NCLB sets up a flawed vision that cannot be attained. The effect is demoralizing, punitive, and misleading. Mandating performance expectations for all students that are impossible to acheive guarantees the impression that all public schools are failing, and provides a disingenuous- and some might say intended- argument for abandoning them."

Call your senators, let them know that this is unacceptable. If you are an Oregon resident, you can call Senator Ron Wyden in Washington at 202-224-5244 or fax a letter to 202-228-2717.

Posted by jen at December 31, 2003 11:00 PM