Sunday, March 20, 2005

A Powerful letter from a Colorado Media Specialist -

This is worth a read. It's from the Rocky Mountain News in Colorado but this is going on right now all over the country.

"...Because of CSAP, when I retire this year, I will not be replaced. Neither will two other teachers: a gifted-and-talented teacher and a physical education teacher. We're expected to lose 100 students from our population, which amounts to three teachers. These days, principals can't afford to lose language arts, math or science teachers, so everyone who is considered "nonessential" to CSAP doesn't get replaced...I am ashamed of this country. We are allowing our political leaders who do not understand education to belittle our children. We are letting people who know the least make decisions about our schools. We are allowing the rich to dictate a program of poverty to the poor, and call it accountability. And if this continues, we are going to end public education. Is this what Americans want?

This CSAP test is an end-run. The people who want to end public education have found a way to do it...These struggling students will walk away even more disheartened at the end of the school day. And so will I, because I don't see testing as a way to improve education, but as a way to ruin it, a way to make public education look much worse than it truly is, a way for politicians to make themselves look much better than they are, and a way to keep the poor down and feeling bad about themselves..."

There is nothing more that I can say.

But on another note I was turned on to this article and many others by Susan Ohanian. Be sure to check out her site but don't stop there. Sign up for her mailing list, daily updates of the news about public education and NCLB.

And from that site, Who's the Man Behind the Curtain? This is a must read. The first line says it, "When Ted Kennedy and George Bush agree on something, one needs to start to worrying about who the man behind the curtain is." And the answer is...of course...the Business Roundtable.

3 comments:

EdWonk said...

That's already happening at our junior high school. The electives program will be replaced (next year) with a "remedial" program.

Our teachers will be "retraining" over the summer.

NO NCLB.org said...

Does that make you angry? I believe it make me livid, and of course, scared.

David M. Miller said...

Just read the man behind the curtain. Wouldn't the men behind the curtain want the public to be satisfied with the schools? I think clearly the best option is for the men to hold a roundtable with the 300 best educators and 100 or so of the top physicians, accountants, lawyers and athletes, military strategists, and social workers, etc., hand them a check for billions and billions of dollars, smile, and leave.