The No Child Left Behind Act, is doing exactly the opposite, leaving all the children behind and damaging the reputation of public schooling. After reading this chapter, I now understand why testing is so important in public schools especially and what these statistics imply. I liked the argument brought up on page 85 about how an increase in passing standardized tests may not actually represent an educational shift for the better in terms of how students understand material and how teachers teach material. It could potentially just mean that teachers are teaching towards the test and students have mastered the memorization of material that will be on the test. Initially, when we spoke about standardized testing as it was introduced in the American school book I thought it was a good idea to have these tests “measure” in a sense general comprehension of the core curriculum but after reading this chapter I have changed my position.
The Privatization of public schools in my opinion means less interference and a cut in teaching methods that may be helping students in failing schools but are not turning out higher test scores overall. Privatization, in my opinion will cause a major regression in students that were already failing, they will become prisoners in an educational system that is supposed to help them but instead it groups them into inaccurate categories. This is a direct return to the common school theme of one America, and one American way which is conformity. I agree with the last thought presented in the chapter that the role of the government is to be a help-meet for parents and students and not a dictator. I think that is the number one reason why less people go into teaching as a profession because of the conformity and mediocrity that is accepted especially in opublic schools. I don’t understand how raising standards for children who technically haven’t met the initial standards will prove beneficial in the end. I think Republicans and those who support NCLB and the privatization of public schools are those who obviously only care about the profit and are not willing to the do the ground-work to solve the issue, everyone wants a quick fix and more money while children fall by the wayside, and I do not think that this is fair. For those parents who cannot afford private school education, it should not be that public school becomes dumbed down and shut down, then what happens to these children. I thought that the initial concept of education as unfair and unequal as it was, was to get the “poor” kids off the street thereby decreasing violence, by privatizing education these “poor” kids will end up in the streets again and what will happen to them then and who/what will be to blame to their misfortune.
Do you think privatization of public education is only supported by right wing parties for the reasons described in the chapter, or is there more gain besides monetary value? Obviously there were failing schools before the actually enactment of NCLB, what has changed in the societal views of education that makes NCLB and its statutes such a bad legislation presently? According to what the author believes NCLB is strictly Republican supported but its not accurate to say that all Republicans have their children in private schools, what is unfair about grouping all Republicans under the negative stigma of the NCLB legislation? Do you really think more Republicans have less of their children in public schools?
Although im not sure attempts to privatize public education are based on politics, it does seem that republicans and conservatives are more in favor of privatization. Republicans are typically in favor of leaving things up to the free market and reduced government regulation. However, democrats here in New York and in other states as well are the ones that strongly favor charter schools which i believe Meier would argue is an attempt to undermine traditional public schools.