No Child Left Behind MY...........

First of all, let me start by saying that the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) signed by former Pres. Bush had good intentions. It really did. But whenever you have people who are not in a classroom EVERYDAY making decisions about what happens in a classroom EVERYDAY, you will create more problems than you actually started with.
I do believe that every student can learn. I also believe that, as educators, it is our job to discover how each student can learn and then direct them on their way. Education has lost its true course as now it is only driven by test scores and daily attendance. All thanks to NCLB!!!! You are so correct. No child is left behind because we are socially promoting them all. And the sickening part of the deal is that the students know it. In their minds, they don't have to study and work hard because eventually I will be moved on. This can be very discouraging for someone in my mind.
Every morning, I tend to a group of people who have little desire to do better that what they are doing right now. Few have goals. Few have dreams. And I am well aware that the brunt of the responsibility falls on the home but there must be something more we can offer students other than stricter graduation requirements and more rigor in the classroom. If I didn't see it, I would not believe there are teenagers who cannot tell me what negative seven minus three equals or the product of seven and nine. And they get free calculators, folks.
Our future is bleak if it's in the hands of today's children. It's a harsh reality. Our educational system needs a serious overhaul. It will have to be aggressive and assertive. Everyone is not going to college. By eighth grade, we need to adjust to that. Kids are not in the fields anymore in the summers. What is wrong with year-round school? I am even for a longer school day--whatever it takes to produce positive citizens to carry on the values and morals of this great country.
If President Obama (or anyone in his camp) ever reads this, holla at a sister. I have some fresh ideas that just might turn this poor situation around if gotten to the right people. Administrators don't see what I see everyday. Superintendents don't see what I see everyday. Would you ask a colonel in a cushy office the best weapon for warfare or the lieutenant you've enlisted for battle who sees what they are dealing with on a regular basis? This is my battle cry.....

I'm just saying...

Deo Volente,
Step Brown