No Child Left Behind: All Rhetoric, No Money

[HFishbine]

So Nina Rees, assistant deputy secretary with the U.S. Department of Education, flew to good old Greensboro, North Carolina yesterday to present my girlfriend's school with a national Blue Ribbon Schools award, an award given for surpassing federal Adequate Yearly Progress test-score goals.

In her school's case, they were cited for "notable success with disabled students, as more than 77 percent passed state tests last year, compared to fewer than 59 percent of disabled students statewide." (1)

An achievement like that in the private sector would likely mean some sort of financial bonus for the staff. Did teachers get any kind of reward? No. All this school got was an administration bureaucrat interrupting the school day for a feel-good presentation.

1) http://www.news-record.com/news/education/ed_dept_091504.htm

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. It was bad legislation. Period.

Even had it been funded, it still stank.

[Donna Zen]

2. NCLB is->

"...all mouth, no money..."

--Wesley K. Clark

[LWolf]

3. I don't want a financial bonus.

I got one once, when there was still money budgeted for "incentives." For "raising" our test scores, each teacher at our school got a check for $1.93. They called it "merit pay." You can see what we merited!

I do think that, since they saw fit to cut the reward $$$ out of the budget, they ought to cut all of the sanctions out, too. What's a carrot/stick bribe/threaten system if you take away the carrots/bribes? It just leaves threats and sanctions.

In reality, I don't know any teachers who want that sort of "merit" pay. It leads to the teachers that take on the toughest classes being penalized; we know that no matter how well we may do with them in one year, they aren't going to pass up the kids who speak English, have fewer learning disabilities, come from homes where adults have actually parented them, talked to them, and interacted with them since birth, where they are safe, clean, warm, loved, and well-fed. Instead, the teachers that take on the hardest job will be "sanctioned."

What we'd really like some $$ to go towards:

*smaller class sizes
*smaller schools
*more adult support on campus (fewer "extra duties")
*tutoring, mentoring, and many other "teacher" jobs done by people hired to do just that, instead of teachers "moonlighting" with all of their "extra" time
*Supply budgets; I spend at least $1000 a year out of my own pocket, not counting "extras" like buying my own art curriculum, science supplies, etc.
*paid non-student days or periods for planning.

[9119495]

4. Dean said get rid of it, Kerry should too.

You can't trust republicans on PUBLIC schoo issues. Kerry should scrap it and start over with a new reform plan.

Believe me, I live NCLB and it's an utter nightmare. Though I am a really good teacher with results to prove it, GWB refers to me as a failure, as do his rep. voters. I challenge anyone to spend a day in my class to evaluate people at my school...but of course they never show.