| Topic: |
Sociology > Education |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
21 Feb 2005 03:17:50 AM |
| Object: |
The Disaster of W's "No Child Left Behind" Program. |
I have a nephew who has been diagnosed having Attention Deficit Disorder
and who has also been diagnosed as hyperactive. You can forget about
the private schools, because NONE of them accepted him, his mother
looked everywhere.
But as it turns out, all the public schools were ready and eager to
accept him, and any other student that comes to them, no matter how poor
that student is, and no matter how handicapped that student is either.
And some of the public schools have better programs than others. So the
kid's mother did the smart thing, she shopped around and found her kid
the best school available.
Naturally, there are a certain number of public schools that excel in
educating the handicapped. But Bush's "No Child Left Behind" program is
threatening to cut of funding to these very public schools that are
doing the best job of educating students. So as it turns out, Bush's
program is not improving education, it's instead punishing those very
schools that are doing the best job of educating their students.
Below is a very interesting, telling letter, written to the editor of my
local paper.
Abel
From:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2005/02/19/EDG27BCP1R1.D=
TL&type=3Dprintable
=A0
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Saturday, February 19, 2005
A threat to public education
Editor -- It doesn't surprise me that Cupertino Union School District
has been placed "at risk" for failing to follow the (unreasonable
testing) confines of "No Child Left Behind" (editorial, Feb. 18).
Cupertino has always offered an exceptional education to handicapped
students, particularly autistic persons.
Many of these students are severely handicapped and are unable to write
or even communicate verbally. To ask them to take a comprehensive,
multiple- choice (federal and state-mandated) exam is lunacy. I taught
in Cupertino for years. One of my severely autistic students actually
attempted to eat the answer sheet -- yet he was included in the federal
and state database.
If the mandates of "No Child Left Behind" continue without reasonable
modification, they are likely to drastically alter the landscape of
public education, if not destroy it entirely.
JIM THURBER
Mountain View
.
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| User: "William Flax" |
|
| Title: Re: The Disaster of W's "No Child Left Behind" Program. |
22 Feb 2005 01:37:42 PM |
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The very notion that you can improve education by imposing additional layers
of non-productive bureaucracy over the diverse school systems of America,
and trying to federalize standards, is so absurd that it should have been
laughed at, rather than adopted by a spineless Congress.
The best approach to education is local, adopted to meet the needs of
specific students in specific schools. But that is only logical, and those
who want to expand Government do not have such logical priorities.
William Flax [Return Of The Gods Web
Site--http://pages.prodigy.net/krtq73aa ]
<AbelMalcolm@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:26994-4219A73E-430@storefull-3131.bay.webtv.net...
I have a nephew who has been diagnosed having Attention Deficit Disorder
and who has also been diagnosed as hyperactive. You can forget about
the private schools, because NONE of them accepted him, his mother
looked everywhere.
But as it turns out, all the public schools were ready and eager to
accept him, and any other student that comes to them, no matter how poor
that student is, and no matter how handicapped that student is either.
And some of the public schools have better programs than others. So the
kid's mother did the smart thing, she shopped around and found her kid
the best school available.
Naturally, there are a certain number of public schools that excel in
educating the handicapped. But Bush's "No Child Left Behind" program is
threatening to cut of funding to these very public schools that are
doing the best job of educating students. So as it turns out, Bush's
program is not improving education, it's instead punishing those very
schools that are doing the best job of educating their students.
Below is a very interesting, telling letter, written to the editor of my
local paper.
Abel
From:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/19/EDG27BCP1R1.DTL&t
ype=printable
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Saturday, February 19, 2005
A threat to public education
Editor -- It doesn't surprise me that Cupertino Union School District
has been placed "at risk" for failing to follow the (unreasonable
testing) confines of "No Child Left Behind" (editorial, Feb. 18).
Cupertino has always offered an exceptional education to handicapped
students, particularly autistic persons.
Many of these students are severely handicapped and are unable to write
or even communicate verbally. To ask them to take a comprehensive,
multiple- choice (federal and state-mandated) exam is lunacy. I taught
in Cupertino for years. One of my severely autistic students actually
attempted to eat the answer sheet -- yet he was included in the federal
and state database.
If the mandates of "No Child Left Behind" continue without reasonable
modification, they are likely to drastically alter the landscape of
public education, if not destroy it entirely.
JIM THURBER
Mountain View
.
|
|
|
| User: "Lester Long" |
|
| Title: Re: The Disaster of W's "No Child Left Behind" Program. |
22 Feb 2005 02:18:23 PM |
|
|
"William Flax" <krtq73aa@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:aSLSd.11273$hU7.2451@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
The best approach to education is local, adopted to meet the needs of
specific students in specific schools.
New York City tried that approach for 35 years, and it didn't seem to work.
Regards,
Lester
.
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| User: "William Flax" |
|
| Title: Re: The Disaster of W's "No Child Left Behind" Program. |
22 Feb 2005 03:11:11 PM |
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Nothing will work--nothing is ever going to work--if you start with the
President's delusion that it is possible to have a system, "where no child
is left behind."
In the real world, every child differs to some degree in his basic
aptitudes; in the extent and direction of his motivation. A system that is
not flexible enough to live with that reality, and to work within the
parameters of that reality, is worse than a waste of time. It actually
tends to drive away many who could still benefit, if it were more realistic.
We have tried to address some of these considerations in
http://pages.prodigy.net/krtq73aa/educate.htm
William Flax
"Lester Long" <long5@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:jsMSd.8798$x53.1708@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
"William Flax" <krtq73aa@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:aSLSd.11273$hU7.2451@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
The best approach to education is local, adopted to meet the needs of
specific students in specific schools.
New York City tried that approach for 35 years, and it didn't seem to
work.
Regards,
Lester
.
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