Obama Doubles Down On NCLB

[Starry Messenger]

(This is a reaction blog to the NYT article http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/education/14child.html)


http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2010/03/obama-doubles-down-on-nclb.html

The Times article has both Harkin and Miller - the heads of the Senate and House committees - saying they like the proposals and everything should go through.

Great.

More testing, more school closures, more fear-based policy-making, and more fear-based teaching. That's doubling down on NCLB, not changing the law for the better. For some reason Arne Duncan says the punitive measures of NCLB are gone in this Obama re-do. How is that?


Teachers and administrators will be fired if they do not raise the test scores of their students, schools will closed if the test scores of their students do not go up, and states will only get Title 1 money by showing the Obama administration how "innovative" they are - in other words, the Race to the Top competitive grants are going to be enshrined in the new education law every year and districts are going to have to do what the administration wants, like tie tenure and evaluations to test scores and open lots of charter schools in order to qualify for Title 1 money.

And for some reason known only to the Great Obama, schools that are already doing well on their measurements will receive more money while schools that are not doing well will be closed or re-structured a la Duncan's policy in Chicago and Bloomberg's here in NYC.

This is really really bad.

[saracat]

1. I am speechless. What the heck is wrong with Harkin?

If these things keep going on the teachers will leave in droves. I think many liberals and even moderates are going to be leaving our party in November. I am hanging on by my fingernails but I do not know how many more GOP inspired policies I can stomach.

[Starry Messenger]

2. At this point I could care less about the Democratic Party.

They obviously couldn't find their ass with both hands unless someone stapled a wad of cash to it. I'm worried sick for these schools. :(

[Fire1]

5. HA!! Good one! n/t

[Riley18]

3. As a teacher, I cannot begin to think of the elections coming up this year or

in 2012. I am ashamed because I believed that Obama would help to save our country, and said so many times at work. Now, I feel like a fool because for just a little while...I believed a politician.

[maryf]

4. This is really really bad.

you said it...K&R

[tonysam]

6. It's worse than bad. If a liberal like Harkin signs on to this shit,

there is no hope at all. It was bad enough when Ted Kennedy got conned into supporting NCLB, but the timing had a lot to do with its passage, too (shortly after 9/11). This is far, far worse.

[mzteris]

7. they obviously haven't even READ it.

as, it seems, most here on DU.

Here it is for your reading pleasure and edification, in which you will find the exact opposite of what you see posted in blue above:


http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/blueprint.pdf