[Grovenet] No Child Left Behind?

[Jeff Cooper]

Kellie Pickler is a ditzy singer, not an intellectual (obviously). Kudos to the kid who not only knew that Europe was a continent (and not a country) but that Budapest is the capital of Hungary.  However, I really doubt that that is a 3rd grade standard anywhere.  Indeed, the standards based curricula of NCLB really takes our country backwards with our students.  Knowing "stuff" is all well and good... but the stuff our kids are learning when aligned to the NCLB standards is appallingly low.  4th graders now just start learning their times tables (and math is one of *the two major subject areas addressed by NCLB).  I learned my times tables in 2nd grade.

Tech is currently *not* a standard in K-12 and is unlikely to become one in the near future for a variety of reasons.  It is still viewed as a supplemental tool to enhance standard curriculum rather than a method of transforming curriculum.  One reason that tech isn't a standard is because that means that schools would need to adequately support it.  It bothers me to no end that the K-4 schools in FGSD all have four computers per class (which is excellent), yet has no real plan or support for appropriate use other than SuccessMaker (a high priced drill and kill type of technology).  Furthermore there is minimal computer access in the middle and high schools for students.  Intel recently granted NAMS a number of whiteboards, but there aren't computers to hook them up to so they lie fallow.  The list goes on regarding how FGSD in particular and our country in general resists the use of technology in schools.

I'd much rather see students actively engaged with their own learning than being bored with dull repetitive assignments year after year.  This requires the administration to cut loose atavistic approaches to education, which is very difficult for the status quo to do.  The current charter school offers some hope, as does the fact that FGSD now considers setting up its own limited charter school. Let's hope that these are steps in the right direction.

--Jeff Cooper

       
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