The name of the game in education is to teach children. Every teacher wants his or her students to do their best. Every parent wants his child to succeed. Every student wants to do well - as well or better - than his peers.
Enter No Child Left Behind.
Everyone still has the same goals: successful, well-educated students. No Child Left Behind spells out specific criteria for defining successful:
- Every child must learn to read by the third grade.
- Every student must show adequate yearly progress towards uniform learning standards.
- Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) must be evidenced on test scores
- To teach most effectively, teachers must have highly qualified ranking.
No Child Left Behind sounds like the perfect means to the end of successful, well-educated students that we have all always wanted.
A common argument against NCLB is the football analogy . . .If a child is not a talented football player, no amount of legislation or training will make him one.
Another agrument is that special education has not been held to high enough, consistent standards for a long time. Children have suffered.
Some parent groups argue that the best education for children is not actually in the general education classroom.
The bottom line is that we all really want what is best for children. How can we accomplish this? What are your thoughts on NCLB? Take a moment to answer our poll or to start a discussion.
