by Con Fusion

Created on: May 25, 2008

Why do we have government? What is its purpose? Who is it for? With politics as seemingly brutal as they are these days it can be easy to stray away from the fundamentals of government and instead become cynical to the system and all of its doings. However, if we take a step back from the battleground and really consider government in its fundamentals, it has always been established to organize the nation's citizens, and strive to help them. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is a piece of legislature that, putting political opinions aside, was truly conceived with the betterment of people and their education in mind. Yet, like so many prior attempts at educational reforms, intentions and implementations were two very separate entities. The NCLB act failed, leaving America's youth struggling with no one to lend a helping hand. Therefore, this act should not be renewed due to the limits it places on teachers as well as students, and the severe lack of funding and ideally high-set standards that caused so many of the problems we are dealing with today.

The renewal of the No Child Left Behind act would continue to limit teachers and schools and prevent effective education of their students. Schools have been forced to cut funding or entirely scrap subjects not included in the standardized testing that is required annually by the NCLB act. Instead, much more emphasis is being placed on the "critical subjects" the students are tested on. Stress levels among teachers have dramatically increased, which has inhibited critical areas of their instruction. Teachers have also been required to use "scientifically based research" materials in their classrooms and not given any room to use their own judgment or teaching styles that are just as if not more effective than the standardized materials they are given.

The pressure to teach more math and reading in classes has conversely restricted teachers and schools from offering their students more subjects. Educators are now more inclined to "teach to the test" now that their salary, and even their job, is dependent upon the annual test grades of their students. With the high standards of the NCLB act, there is little incentive to waste precious time with other courses. These standards were written to help the students but have had unforeseen ramifications in real life situations.

The great stress increase in teachers was a direct result of the time constraints that now dictate the instructors' routines. One of the main goals

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