Alicat, I agree with what you're saying, I really do sympathize. The Administration is indeed at least doing something here. I'm just arguing it's a very bold and extreme gamble they're making here. The NCLB initiative is not merely dipping your toes in the water or getting used to the water temperature until you get your feet wet, it's just diving in and seeing if you can adjust to everything all at once. It's not safe.

And as I go back to what Juju was saying earlier, indeed a good deal of motivation comes from discipline, authority and, yes, a little pushing. But you can only push so hard that then it just won't help, it just doesn't feel right, and to some, it may further discourage someone or feel abusive to ones emotions.

You always hear that a relationship is based on trust and communication, and building such relations in the school environment is the necessary step to beginning to resolve these conflicts. Activists and teachers alike must act and communicate accordingly and respectfully. Norms must be eastablished to stop the reckless constant reorganization process, so teachers and education advocates can save their breathes and make their voices heard for the good of the community. A code of ethics must be agreed upon and adopted in a diplomatic process through schools and organizations alike, mission statements which acknowledge the fundamental need to "teach the whole child" and teach as a community of learners. Finally, the money must be managed responsibly and the general public must be convinced that these schools need the money, not the lip service.

The community, that relationship, just doesn't seem to show to me in NCLB. I believe NCLB is creating more transience than ever, and forcing everyone to keep running, trying to keep up with the motions, is not healthy. There's little communication, little trust, in all of that, and though in the short term you may hear success stories of reading and math scores up from a year ago often, in the long run when the reorganization continues to happen and it exhausts many relationships and schools, I fear some unfortunate and costly consequences will occur.

Besides that, and it is just my opinion and I understand may not be a popular opinion, I just think education should be at least politically-motivated as possible. As far as the funding is concerned, you would have to expect to have the back of the government, but as far as the teaching and programs, communities should decide.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

That's very good.

I think the basic argument of the article is that Asian-Americans continue to be misrepresented or discriminated, in that despite their educational talents, they continue to be below the radar in many of the greatest professions in America, from Hollywood to politics.

So the article hints out the possible reality of "cultural elitism".

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

quote:

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But you can only push so hard that then it just won't help, it just doesn't feel right, and to some, it may further discourage someone or feel abusive to ones emotions.

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Juju - 1.) a magic charm or fetish 2.)Magic 3.)A taboo connected woth the use of magic

The dictionary never lies.... I am magical (;

Hey Jim, let me say I do respect and understand your opinion very much. I think anyone out there just want to see some sort of relief, and so an ambitious project such as this sounds so sound and promising, and indeed No Child Left Behind can leave quite a bright first impression.

Disabled children now make up 13% of the population in schools. Over an eighth of all children in school. I believe every American deserves the right to an enriching and creative education, and that guarantee should be made constitutional.

The problem here I see is I think the attempt to strengthen public education here is being misguided. Under NCLB, all children must attain academic proficiency, reach a threshold as decided by each state. The minimal acceptance levels are in place, but I see a great problem in forcing, straight up, disabled children to pass the same tests as non-disabled students. In result, I think a considerable number of children just won't succeed at the rate he or she wants to and rather than achieve a multi-dimensional, creative education will be limited in fields.

So I see two problems here. States will not only have to lower the bar so disabled children can succeed, but all at once it lowers the bar for all other students. Plus that same bar may still appear too high for some disabled children.

Then there's the sanctioning. If any school doesn't show proficiency for two years in a row, the school is automatically labeled as "failing", no questions asked. On average, the poor and minority children typically score lower on these tests. And we'll need billions more in order to reach these non-achievers.

Finally, though some may see the following opinion as beneficial, I see this initiative as so heavily corporately-influenced, thus affecting the diversity and creative approaches in the public school system.

Edison Schools, for instance, was founded in 1992, and is now the country's leading private manager of public schools. Edison now owns over 150 public schools, with about 80,000 American students now attending their schools. At first Edison Schools struggled financially, but since No Child Left Behind has expanded, Edison Schools have been enjoying their first-ever profits and are expanding. National Heritage Academies Inc. is also enjoying similar success, owning whole school districts in Baltimore, for instance.

Could you imagine all the children of America being taught the same lesson, on the same day, at the same time? That's what's happening at these corporate and charter schools. I fear this will encourage further invasion of corporate schools and further damage the creative options available to our children.

No Child Left Behind, I believe, means well in trying to get somewhere, but I see many cavities and mothholes in this proposal. Like I mentioned here, a heightened level of stress, mistrust, and helter-skelter.

I, myself, come from a unique educational background. I struggled at Warder H. Elementary School in Arvada, Colorado. With Asperger's Syndrome, I have learning differences. I was home-schooled throughout middle school, then went to Denver Academy, a private school, throughout high school, a school which fosters putting their heart and attention to children with learning differences or disabilities, which is a school I will always have my utmost respect for. I came in, crying and fearing for my future and that I may never be accepted in society or seen or treated like everyone else, and left as the valedictorian of the Class of 2002. So many teachers all sent me letters through the mail that summer and told me how I had left a deep impression in all their hearts and at the school they'll never forget. Thinking of their caring, loving words makes me cry warm tears each time I think of it.

Community is the one word I think of when I think of the greatness of Denver Academy. I believe I succeeded because everyone put trust in me. I just think the community approach is lacking in NCLB.

No Child Left Behind truly is a wide proposal. Though key promises within the law have given support to the proposal, opinion polls suggest most people know little about NCLB. There should be some concern there, and I think we all should be aware and really KNOW of this initiative before we allow it to pass. To be honest, I'm not entirely convinced my own arguments I'm making are entirely accurate, because we just haven't heard much about education as of late across the corporate media and such, with other topics getting a much wider rotation.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20