A No Child home companion. Pretty much a must-read from Salon:
…This is a bleak picture for an old Democrat. Face it, the schools are not run by Republican oligarchs in top hats and spats but by perfectly nice, caring, sharing people, with a smattering of yoga/raga/tofu/mojo/mantra folks like my old confreres. Nice people are failing these kids, but when they are called on it, they get very huffy. When the grand poobah Ph.D.s of education stand up and blow, they speak with great confidence about theories of teaching, and considering the test results, the bums ought to be thrown out…
….The No Child Left Behind initiative has plenty of flaws, but the Democrats who are trashing it should take another look at the Reading First program. It is morally disgusting if Democrats throw out Republican programs that are good for children. Life is not a scrimmage. Grown-ups who stick with dogma even though it condemns children to second-class lives should be put on buses and sent to North Dakota to hoe wheat for a year.
I’m a long time fan, Eduwonk, but I must say I’m amazed you think this is a “must read.” My dismay is not related to the subject of Kelior’s article, but rather how poorly written it is. How long does it take him to make his (softball) point?
I don’t think reminding Dems to make sure the baby stays in the tub is a softball point. Regarding how long it takes Kelior to get there… have you ever listened to A Prairie Home Companion?
Perhaps instead of a “must-read” we should simply call it “above average.”
Exactly, and give the e’wonk a break. He said it was a must read not a must readable.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/NCLB-ActII/2008/02/spellings_tries_to_rescue_read.html
The mysterious spreadsheet with a covert column listing FY09 numbers suggested that President Bush would propose $1 billion for the Reading First program. It’s no surprise that the president would want to rescue one of his prized NCLB programs. Congress whacked it down to $393 million for fiscal 2008.
No Child Left Behind, No Teacher Left Standing may be the single most destructive force to ever hit education– esp for troubled and challenged students.
And none of the commenters here respond to Keilor’s main point. Wonder why that is? Which is: the importance of finding the courage to admit the failure of 40 years of tired, hopeless public urban education dogma. Nice work, people. Hmmm. Wonder what side of the political fence you all are on.