20 Reasons to Eliminate NCLB

["Horn, James" <jhorn@monmouth.edu>]

Thanks, Monty--you got me thinking, and here is what I would offer:

20 Reasons to Eliminate NCLB

1. An education policy built on impossible performance demands that assure the failure of the majority of American public schools should be eliminated, not reformed. 

2. An education policy that has the same impossible demands for most English-language learners and special education students should be eliminated, not reformed.

3. An education policy that traumatizes children, destroy the desire to learn, and corrupts the purposes for learning should be eliminated, not reformed. 

4. An education policy that uses fear, intimidation, and retribution as motivation should be eliminated, not reformed.

5. An education policy that uses a single assessment once a year to make life-altering decisions should be eliminated, not reformed.

6. An education policy that ignores poverty as a chief determinant in academic performance should be eliminated, not reformed.

7. An education policy that creates two different school curriculums, one for the children of the poor and one for well-funded successes, should be eliminated, not reformed.

8. An education policy that uses skewed and manipulated research from the National Reading Panel to devise a national reading strategy should be eliminated, not reformed.

9. An education policy that uses the strain of test score competition to undercut public cohesion and civic commitment to democratic goals should be eliminated, not reformed.

10. An education policy that shrinks the American school curriculum to two or three subjects that are tested should be eliminated, not reformed.

11. An education policy that discourages diversity and encourages homogeneity in schools should be eliminated, not reformed.

12. An education policy that supports the use of tax dollars to fund private schools rather than public school improvement should be eliminated, not reformed.

13. An education policy that advocates the use of public money to pay private contractors to run public schools should be eliminated, not reformed.

14. An education policy that is built on unfunded and under-funded mandates should be eliminated, not reformed.

15. An education policy that reduces or eliminates local and state decision making by citizens should be eliminated, not reformed.

16. An education policy that mandates that military recruiters have access to student information should be eliminated, not reformed.

17. An education policy that inflames a teacher shortage in order to replace professional teachers with individuals who have passed a teaching test should be eliminated, not reformed.

18. An education policy that is used to reward tax dollars to insiders and cronies for their political support should be eliminated, not reformed.

19. An education policy that uses paid propaganda to advance its agenda should be eliminated, not reformed.

20. An education policy that puts test scores in the place of the intellectual, social, and emotional growth of America?s children should eliminated, not reformed.

Action Strategies

1) Hold a public forum in your community to explain these 20 points.

2) Persuade your organizations to pass resolutions calling for the repeal of NCLB based on these points.

3) Collect signatures on a Petition to Eliminate NCLB based on these 20 points.  Publicize your results in the local media and send copies of resolutions and petitions to your local and federal elected officials.

3) Write letters-to-the-editor and op-ed pieces for your local and regional newspapers, making these points.

4) Get your local school board to pass a resolution or hold a community forum about eliminating NCLB.

5) Contact your U.S. senators and representatives about eliminating NCLB: Call them, write or email them (send these points and other information), and set up meetings with them in your district (bring a group of children).

6) Contact your state legislators to enlist them in the effort to eliminate NCLB; get state legislatures to pass resolutions.

 7) Parents: Join the NCLB-mandated Parents Advisory Board at your child?s school.  Bring the 20 Reasons to Eliminate NCLB to begin a dialogue.

8). Organize a public protest on test days or days given over to test preparation.

9). Contact organizations such as ACT and MoveOn to get the 20 Reasons established as an action item.

10). Organize community and neighborhood potluck dinners with teachers and parents to talk together about how NCLB is affecting children and school.



-----Original Message-----
From: arn-l-owner@interversity.org on behalf of Monty Neill
Sent: Tue 4/4/2006 3:59 PM
To: RScriticalteach; care-strategy; care@yahoogroups.com; ARN-state@yahoogroups.com; ARN-L; arn2-strategy
Subject: [arn-l] Seven Ways to Work for NCLB Reform
 
We at FairTest have been asked over time for a short list of things that folks can do. Here is a possible list. 
It is not at all an exhaustive list of things to do - the recent actions of students in opposition to the proposed immigration laws show us again that a wide range of activity can be used in powerful ways - but it could be used to get people thinking, especially people not used to taking action. We will fill this out with more details and post it to our website in the near future. Comments are welcome. Monty 


Seven Ways to Work for NCLB Reform

 

1)      Hold a public forum in your community to discuss NCLB.

 

2)      Persuade your organizations to pass resolutions calling for reform of NCLB:

                  - Endorse the Joint Organizational Statement on NCLB 

                              (at http://www.fairtest.org/nattest/bushtest.html, see 'alternatives')

- Collect signatures on the Petition to Reform NCLB; http://www.fairtest.org/petition/ 

- Publicize your results in the local media and send copies of resolutions and petitions to your local and federal elected officials.

 

3)      Write letters-to-the-editor and op-ed pieces for your local and regional newspapers.

 

4)      Get your local school board to pass a resolution or hold a community forum about NCLB.

 

5)      Contact your U.S. senators and representatives about changing NCLB: Call them, write or email them (send clips and information), and set up meetings with them in your district (bring a group).

 

6)      Contact your state legislators to enlist them in the effort to reform NCLB; get state legislatures to pass resolutions 

 

      7)   Parents: Join the NCLB-mandated Parents Advisory Board at your child's school.  





Monty Neill, Ed.D.
Executive Director
FairTest
342 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-864-4810    fax 617-497-2224
monty@fairtest.org
http://www.fairtest.org
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