I felt that the article was very unjust and it felt like he really had no clue to what really goes on in school. For example he states in his article that “Consider the schools. They receive more than $40 billion a year in federal aid. Despite the aid — and all the federal mandates that go with it — average school test scores have been essentially flat for decades. Federal intervention has failed to improve scores in part because the top-down rules that come with aid have squelched local innovation.” This statement is utterly false.
My opinion of NCLB is it is flawed, developmentally inappropriate, ill funded, ←and→ leaving more students, teachers, ←and→ schools behind than ever before because The tests have turned into the objective of classroom instruction rather than the measure of teaching ←and→ learning. Based on my experience, the current implication of NCLB is similar to teaching in a Korean classroom; teachers are teaching the test and the only thing that matters are the test results. Teaching to the test is the number one criticism by teachers and administrators. There is so much pressure on schools to achieve acceptable performance levels that test-taking has become a subject in itself. Everything academic revolves around the year-end state testing to the point that other subjects are usually neglected.
In the end, she warns that the outcome will produce students who are not able to comprehend complex knowledge and schools that limit history, science, the arts, civics, and many other components of the curriculum that provide college preparatory instruction. Ravitch notes that the United States, compared to other nations, is not following a model that will produce effective change. She explained, “High-performing nations make sure that students have access to a rich and balanced curriculum, not just a steady diet of test preparation and testing” (p.
* Rough Draft Engaging Sentence – Schools are the places where kids go to learn and the government has neglected them, so much so that “in 1999 one-quarter of U.S. public schools reported that the condition of at least one of their buildings was inadequate” (140).Michael Moore, the author of “Idiot Nation” believes that policy makers do not pay attention to public schooling systems than they should. In “Idiot Nation” Michael Moore persuasively argues that policy makers of America do not pay enough attention to schooling systems through the use of rhetorical devices, supporting detail and persuasive appeals. Michael Moore uses anecdotes, irony and pathos in order to persuade the reader into believing that the policy makers do not care enough
Waiting for the Superior Hero In the film, they revealed how bad teachers are often transferred from one school to another. This can be seen as a rotation cycle which is not turning out well for the public school system as well for the students. The reason being why a school lets a teacher go is because they discover that they are not doing their job efficiently which leads students to not learning. When students do not learn at least the basics of education, then they do not meet the state standards and cannot enter the next grade level. With this in mind, administrators are stuck trying to figure out what in the world are they doing wrong.
School uniforms are not only items that cause a lack of freedom of expression but also a largely ineffective way to help solve the problems they were meant to. Actually, look at it this way “Consider for a moment the problem of gangs. The wearing of gang colors is only a symptom of much deeper social problems, and in most of the schools where gangs are prevalent, the wearing of gang colors has already been banned. Uniforms do not address the complex social realities that lead to gang culture”. (“Point: The High Cost of School Uniforms”).
The Cartel The Cartel shows the educational system like we have never seen it before. The Documentary shed the light on what are the problems with the U.S education and also showed what is causing these problems. It shows what happens when our schools are not doing their job. America spends too much money in education; the government gives billion of dollars every year to the public school districts. But even with all that funding they are not seeing very good results.
It does not solve all our educational problems. But not having a curriculum indicates our unwillingness or inability to define what we are trying to accomplish. It provides direction, clarity, and focus around worthy ends, without interfering with teachers’ decisions about how to teach” (Ravitch, 231). Teachers are not getting the creative freedom that is necessary to be a good teacher. Too much emphasis is being placed on testing and accountability thus creating discomfort and stress for educators.
It has been proven that often times the educators are not properly trained or have the skill set as many educators in the upper class communities. Without bridging the gap between the two demographic communities there will always be a learning deficit in the poor communities, without proper preparation the minority students will lack comprehension skills to succeed in adulthood. This gap will continue to hold the minority children hostage to a future of poverty and perhaps become and remain unemployable. The No Child Left behind Act needs to be restructured to allow all students the advantage to be successful
With so many public schools reporting failing scores each year, it is no wonder why so many parents opt to remove their children from the regular public school system and place them in public schools. However, as appealing as charter schools may seem, they are not always the best solution. Charter school systems have caused harm to public school systems in that they provide some students with an unfair advantage over others, compete with local school districts for federal and state funds, and offer little to no accountability.