Response to Marshak anti-NCLB

["Arthur Hu" <arthurhu@comcast.net>]

Sigh, people still think high stakes testing is
about back to basics....

-----Original Message-----
From: arthurhu@comcast.net [mailto:arthurhu@comcast.net]
Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2004 10:46 AM
To: arthurhu@comcast.net
Subject: Seattletimes.com: Letters to the editor


This message was sent to you by arthurhu@comcast.net,
as a service of The Seattle Times (http://www.seattletimes.com).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Letters to the editor
Full story:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2001857611_satlets14.html






TEST ANXIETY

'Creative thinking' is the wrong answer to reforming education



Editor, The Times:

I read with interest "No Child Left Behind: regression, not reform" by David
Marhsak (Times guest commentary, Feb. 8). The problem I have is with the
view that learning "the three R's" is somehow incompatible with creative
thinking.

 The common thinking by the "enlightened few" seems to gloss over the need
to learn the basics first, and then be able to improve on what is already
there.

During the past generation or two, the emphasis of education has shifted
away from the basics to more "creative" thinking. This seems to have
resulted in the most disenfranchised generation  the world has ever seen.
Perhaps the kids realize they're getting shortchanged.

During the '60s and '70s, we were told to leave our children's education in
the hands of the "professionals," and what we got were promises and little
else. Since that time, we were told that we just needed to pour more money
into education, and that would improve the situation. We poured in more
money, and continued to have poorer results.

Is it any wonder  parents are attempting to hold the educators' feet to the
fire, and make the politicians more accountable for our money? Testing may
not be the answer, but at present, it's the only answer that even attempts
to deal with the problem of our children's failing education.
Charles George, Stanwood



Points off for chaos



It is little wonder "educators" criticize student accountability through
standardized tests. They created the chaos that brought us to this point by
promoting "change" rather than "improvement." How can anyone defend not
requiring every student to read and have math skill appropriate for each
grade level regardless of his or her interest in arts, social studies, etc.?

While the WASL should be evaluated both for cost and content, there are
other tests that could, and perhaps should, be used. I am sure David Marshak
and others would object to any accountability standard that would not
confirm the system they have created. The students are failing because the
educational system has failed. Without testing it will be more of the same.

Most people support the classroom teachers and recognize they are following
priorities and concepts set by their administration. Perhaps the impression
that "teachers are like assembly-line workers" is more a reflection of their
union goals or imposition by school administrators of educational theories,
such as "whole language" reading or combining geometry and algebra.
Mickey Walker, Redmond



Eyes on your own work



Bravo to David Marshak, who has the gumption to point out the follies of the
No Child Left Behind Act!  Even assuming that one standardized test
accurately measures every child's knowledge of math and English (and who
among us hasn't blown an exam?), isn't it obvious that such a focus
jeopardizes the finer points of learning and fails to treat children as
individuals?

Like so many similar school reforms, this new act was created by
well-meaning legislators who want measurable results and don't seem to
realize that there's more to life than the "three R's." As Marshak said,
this isn't a solution. Increased standardized testing will only enhance the
educational scurvy that plagues today's schools.
Sharon Fitzsimmons, Burien



Outdated map of the world



The old joke was that "those who can't teach, teach gym." The newer, sadder
version, as David Marshak points out, is that "those who can't teach, test."

Bertrand Russell once argued that the true role of education was "action,
informed by reason." Others saw their goal as not merely understanding the
world, but changing the world. Those aspirations can hardly be articulated
in today's climate, where government and business combine to blur the
distinction between education and certification. Testing is crucial for the
latter, and of only marginal significance for the former.
Sol Saporta, Seattle



WHAT'S MISSING

Present without context



Eric Devericks' implication in his "AWOL" cartoon (editorial page, Feb. 8),
that the Republican Party owns the national-security issue, is as false as
thinking  conservative fiscal policy is theirs, too.

Before the 9-11 tragedies, terrorism was hardly a blip on the radar screen
of the Bush team, which seemed more focused on reorganizing the military and
promoting "Star Wars" missile defense systems; and  national-security
adviser Condoleezza  Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney utterly ignored
Clinton national-security adviser Sandy Berger's al-Qaida warnings and
(former counterterrorism adviser to Clinton and Bush) Richard Clarke's plan
to put ground forces in Afghanistan to hunt down bin Laden.

Remember how Attorney General John Ashcroft turned down acting FBI Director
Thomas Pickard's $58 million request for anti-terror funds?

Let's not forget that for four out of the five weeks that led up to the
greatest national security failure in our history, our current "War on
Terror" president was on his Texas ranch enjoying the longest vacation in
presidential history.

No wonder this administration is stonewalling the 9-11 Commission.
Bruce Johnson, Seattle



MONEY VALENTINE

Love with the proper stranger



Gotta love Seattle.

 I  dropped  my wallet, stuffed with a dozen credit cards, all the ID you'll
ever need, and $500 in used bills, on a stretch of East Roy as I walked to
work.

I spent an hour or so berating myself for clumsiness and stupidity; then, my
wife got home and called me with the news: Within 45 minutes (of losing the
wallet), an honest woman named Monica had left a message for me at home that
she had found "something of mine." I felt blessed by a forgiving God.

Seattle got a rating of 80 percent returned wallets in a  scientific study,
but I got 100 percent from Monica.
Michael Yates, Vashon






========================== ADVERTISEMENT =============================

If you can do it, watch it, eat it, buy it, or live it
in the Pacific Northwest, you'll find it at NWsource.com

======================================================================

TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE SEATTLE TIMES PRINT EDITION
Call (206) 464-2121 or 1-800-542-0820, or go to
https://read.nwsource.com/subscribe/times/

HOW TO ADVERTISE WITH THE SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY ONLINE
For information on advertising in this e-mail newsletter,
or other online marketing platforms with The Seattle Times Company,
call (206) 464-2361 or e-mail websales@seattletimes.com

TO ADVERTISE IN THE SEATTLE TIMES PRINT EDITION
Please go to http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/contactus/adsales
for information.

======================================================================
For news updates throughout the day, visit http://www.seattletimes.com
======================================================================

            Copyright (c) 2003 The Seattle Times Company

                        www.seattletimes.com
                       Your Life. Your Times.