Let's start with individual progress, because really it all starts with the No Child Left Behind Act. And while I respect the program and believe that it is important for getting our schools on track, there was something about it I didn't like. At a loss for words I turned to some friends and asked their feelings on education. My friend Kerri sent me this response:
My personal concern is in regards to "No Child Left Behind". While in theory, NCLB was meant to make sure that all children get equal education but how it was implemented was that it burdened an already taxed education system. It has teachers spending as much as half their time testing students to get "scores" taking away time from educating.
I began teaching in August of 2002, a short 18 months after Bush was put in as President, and at the beginning of NCLB. Like Kerri said, the NCLB Act is a good one in theory, but it is too broad. It focuses too much attention on the whole school or whole class, rather than the individual child. Each child is different. In one classroom you can have a huge range of academic levels - one child reading 6th grade level books, while another is still learning letter recognition. It isn't fair to lump the whole class into one group, or mark them as failing when not all the students are. So why would you do that with an entire school? Whatever happened to individual progress reports? And then I read this:
Governor Romney Will Improve Upon And Enhance No Child Left Behind (NCLB). He believes that No Child Left Behind has played an important role in stressing the role of accountability and high standards in improving our schools. Governor Romney will improve NCLB by giving states that meet or exceed testing requirements additional flexibility in measuring student performance. He will also improve the law by focusing more attention on individual student progress, rather than the overall progress of schools.
Finally! He definitely has my attention now!
Secondly, parent involvement. I thrived, and my students thrived, when parents were involved. I could always tell which students had parents involved in their education. It showed. Sending a child to school is important not only for the child, but for the future of our country and ourselves. Learning is not an individual process. I know I was taught many wonderful things by my parents and teachers throughout my years of formal education. And it is important for us to realize that we as adults and parents need to be involved in our own children's education. Parent involvement can be done in a variety ways: volunteering in the classroom or on the PTA, helping with school activities, reading with your child, or making sure homework is done and sent back. I even had some parents come in on Fridays and do a fun game or activity with my students, and they loved it. Because of the awesome parents of my students I had an incredible class, one that was passionate about school. Isn't that what we want? Don't we want our children to be hungry for knowledge?
But maybe my dreams of having a president that encouraged such a thing was too lofty of a dream. Or was it?
Governor Romney Promoted Parental Involvement In Education. Because parents are crucial to a child's success in school, Governor Romney supported measures to empower parents to play a more active role in their kids' educations.
He answered my concerns!
So take a moment and go here to read more about his plans for Education in America. You may get your questions and concerns answered too!
