tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603499.post395267326365522390..comments2023-11-30T03:44:34.585-05:00Comments on Opinions Nobody Asked For: No Standardized Test Left BehindJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11683622475941901572noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603499.post-71344343649990286812008-02-01T10:37:00.000-05:002008-02-01T10:37:00.000-05:00"School evaluations ought to be done on a local ba..."School evaluations ought to be done on a local basis." Sounds remarkably like an issue of state and local rights vs. assumed federal responsibilities. Didn't the Republican party use to be all about that? Amazing how things change.<BR/><BR/>I've always said No Child Left Behind has nice ideals but the specifics are dead wrong. Rather than challenging students, we establish minimal standards that cater to the lowest common denominator.<BR/><BR/>When I was in school (this is sad, I'm already sounding like an old man), my teachers had the audacity to give us difficult work and expect that we could rise to the occasion: we studied Shakespeare in fifth grade (admittedly abridged, but still), read books like "The Scarlet Letter" and "The Catcher in the Rye" in seventh, read a college level evolution text "The Ascent of Man" in eighth. Sure, it was often painful, but man did we ever learn.<BR/><BR/>The challenge of public education is how a school can cater to the variety of needs and skill levels presented to it. However, aiming low is not the way to meet that challenge.<BR/><BR/>All of which is a rant that really has little to do with this post, other than being a visceral reaction to the student's "complaint" that the lesson plan is suddenly "easier than normal". Anyway.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06383789548221247888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603499.post-49671436765208375052008-01-31T13:18:00.000-05:002008-01-31T13:18:00.000-05:00"'The way I see it, they're still learning science..."'The way I see it, they're still learning science,' Principal Nathan Collins said."<BR/><BR/>I don't want him firing sucky teachers, because his views are probably the opposite from mine. Granted, he'll have to answer to someone but...really...at this point my faith in school administrators isn't so high. At least the ones that make the news.lsmsrblshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18394244694906086174noreply@blogger.com