1 of 12

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 5

of the NCLB act was to have every student be proficient in math and reading by the year 2014. While this is a very positive outlook, the actuality of these standards being met is quite unrealistic. Ronald Petrelli, a current 2nd grade teacher in Bakersfield, California, continually emphasized the fact that he has his students for only 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, and 180 days out of the year until the day comes when they are tested. He claims the act left out many factors that affect poor student performance and instead place entire blame on the school and teacher if that student scores below satisfactory on the standardized test. With the constant fear of losing their jobs, teachers have had to strictly allocate their time to prepare students for the test.

One of the most important assets a teacher has at his or her disposal is their personal judgment. When presenting material, teachers need to have the ability to assess each students learning level and teach accordingly. The NCLB law gets rid of this successful adaptation by forcing teachers to only use material that has met certain criteria. It would be amazing if a whole country could be taught using uniform teaching equipment, but reality has proven that although this part of the act may suit some children, it still leaves many others disadvantaged.
If the NCLB act were to be restated into law, the students would again be subjected to limitations as severe as their teachers'. Motivation and enthusiasm for learning would continue to decline as the same subjects are continually drilled into the minds of students. There would be a continuation of increased stress among students at the same time teachers would become more stressed. The involvement of parents would still show no increase, leaving students to endure a greater hardship alone. The relationship between student and teacher would still deteriorate and school would become less of a personal growing experience and more of a childhood job. The reasons for the continuing limitations of students are not difficult to understand, given the terms of the act they have been placed under.

As if it wasn't hard enough to get children excited about school before, the re-establishment of the NCLB act will make this situation even worse. By enforcing annual tests of math and reading, the pressure on the teachers to teach to the test is now passed on to the students through monotonous repetition. This boredom is then supplemented with "scientifically based research"

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about No Child Left Behind: The needs of children vs politicians?
We want to hear your view. Write now!