Teacher and author Debra Craig is on a crusade to shine a spotlight on what appears to be the NCLB equivalent of Rummy trying to convince the American public that things are going well in Iraq. In this press release , issued in response to Spellings' latest statement on NCLB being as pure as Ivory soap, Craig outlines some important points that Spellings just doesn't seem to grasp.
(photo: Talk about the pot calling the kettle black).
This mother of two, whose own children attend public schools, has 14 major reasons why NCLB is not “pure” or “perfect” and should become a thing of the past. They are:
1) NCLB unfairly puts no responsibility for academic success on the parent or student; it’s ALL on the schools and teachers.
2) NCLB does not take into consideration and conveniently ignores the impact that 12 million illegal aliens and their children have put upon our public school system.
3) NCLB is a fraud and based on the myth that teachers were only teaching to white and Asian students, commonly referred to as the “achievement gap.”
4) NCLB has an absurd and convoluted definition of success.
5) NCLB has unrealistic goals.
6) NCLB wrongly thinks the way to motivate schools is by labeling them then punishing them with the threat of taking away the things they need to succeed.
7) NCLB fails to recognize the role our culture and parents play into creating successful schools.
8) NCLB ignores the fact that test scores compare one set of students with a completely different set of students.
9) “Teaching the test” comes at the expense of teaching other important subjects.
10) NCLB is creating a teacher shortage with its unrealistic expectations placed upon teachers and low morale for the ones who do stay.
11) NCLB dictates the same of amount of growth despite the fact states use different tests in determining proficiency.
12) NCLB incorrectly defines what constitutes a “high qualified teacher.”
13) NCLB's obsession with testing comes at the expense of other important educational issues.
14) NCLB fails to recognize that standardized tests scores are not the holy grail of an educated society.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Margaret, which one of these points don't you understand?
No comments:
Post a Comment