I found this article about a teacher's position on the No Child Left Behind law. He makes an interesting point.
When teachers I work with complain about how awful the American education system is, how it's spiraling out of control, and how students aren't learning anything these days due to NCLB, I remind them that education has come a long way since the days of cave men. Humanity has learned to read, write, and count into the millions--the billions, and beyond. We're improving all the time.
I do think, however, that since the passage of NCLB, the quality of education has been slowly taking a downward turn. Creative teachers are leaving public schools, because NCLB restricts creativity (in both teachers and students). Our art programs, music, and even trade-related courses like wood-shop classes have been slowly disappearing from the curriculum, because creativity cannot be tested in a multiple-choice venue. Rote memorization is what schools are focused on, because that's exactly what IS tested on the state-mandated tests. All extra funding is funnelled into math, English (esp. grammar), and reading.
Until this year, I've always taught my middle schoolers how to write poems. This year however, I was told to cut poetry writing from the program. Our test scores increased significantly, but our creative thinking skills did not. What else did I cut? Story-writing, letter-writing, and creative journals. The principal is pleased as punch, because all of the kids know what a dangling modifier is. Or at least, they did when they took the test. But how useful is that in life? Not very. I can't remember the last time someone in the real world even said the words "dangling modifier" to me. It's pretty pointless stuff. For some reason, though, it's on the test. Somebody at the state department of education thinks dangling modifiers are more important than learning how to address an envelope.
Go figure.
If we keep going like this, allowing NCLB to dictate what we teach without giving teachers and students anything to motivate creativity, we may just go back to dragging our knuckles and living in caves. But at least we'll all know what a dangling modifier is.
I do think, however, that since the passage of NCLB, the quality of education has been slowly taking a downward turn. Creative teachers are leaving public schools, because NCLB restricts creativity (in both teachers and students). Our art programs, music, and even trade-related courses like wood-shop classes have been slowly disappearing from the curriculum, because creativity cannot be tested in a multiple-choice venue. Rote memorization is what schools are focused on, because that's exactly what IS tested on the state-mandated tests. All extra funding is funnelled into math, English (esp. grammar), and reading.
Until this year, I've always taught my middle schoolers how to write poems. This year however, I was told to cut poetry writing from the program. Our test scores increased significantly, but our creative thinking skills did not. What else did I cut? Story-writing, letter-writing, and creative journals. The principal is pleased as punch, because all of the kids know what a dangling modifier is. Or at least, they did when they took the test. But how useful is that in life? Not very. I can't remember the last time someone in the real world even said the words "dangling modifier" to me. It's pretty pointless stuff. For some reason, though, it's on the test. Somebody at the state department of education thinks dangling modifiers are more important than learning how to address an envelope.
Go figure.
If we keep going like this, allowing NCLB to dictate what we teach without giving teachers and students anything to motivate creativity, we may just go back to dragging our knuckles and living in caves. But at least we'll all know what a dangling modifier is.
Source(s):
I've taught in public schools for 17 years. I also maintain an educational blog. To find my blog's URL, please click on my avatar and read up on my personal info. Thanks.
