“No Child Left Behind”
Sep 18, 2007 My thoughts on...
On a conceptual level, President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” program is a wonderful idea, but in my opinion the way it is being implemented has turned it into an absolute disaster. A huge chunk of the school year is currently used for “teaching to the test”. In other words, the students are “spoon-fed” with the bare facts needed in order to pass their SOL’s. All other topics are typically forbidden because they “aren’t on the SOL”.
The academic success or failure of a child – in fact success and failure in life – depends on a lot more than simply memorizing basic facts. In order to truly learn and grow as a person, a kid must be taught how to think things through, solve problems and ask intelligent questions. Gifted students should be encouraged to learn at a faster pace than the rest of the class and not be “held back” by teachers who are virtually obligated by federal law to teach the entire class at the same level and pace: barely enough to pass the standardized SOL test.
And “No Child Left Behind” is just as bad for the slower learners in a classroom as it is for the gifted ones. All children learn at their own natural pace, and when the curriculum is set at a level where even the slowest learners can pass the SOL after weeks of repetitious study, they are never encouraged to “push themselves” in order to reach their maximum potential. As a result, we’re turning out graduates these days who can barely read or write and possess little or no ability to think through a problem and arrive at the best possible solution.
The classroom should be a place of exploration, an environment that encourages kids to mature and grow intellectually by stimulating their brains and imaginations, but under “No Child Left Behind” the classrooms of today are doing just the opposite. What President Bush had in mind was a way of helping all students succeed in school and in life, but its current implementation is resulting in the “dumbing down” of our kids. They and our country deserve a lot better.
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