Re: MCLB "Anniversary?" Millions of children left

["Art Burke" <aburke@vansd.org>]

That's the nice thing about WASL - there's something in it for
everyone.

>>> arthur@softwarerevolution.com 01/08/03 01:05PM >>>
Remember that according to WASL, nearly EVERY student is a
struggling student, if not every student and school!

-----Original Message-----
From: arn-l-owner@interversity.org 
[mailto:arn-l-owner@interversity.org]On Behalf Of Art Burke
Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 1:00 PM
To: arn-l@interversity.org 
Subject: Re: [arn-l] MCLB "Anniversary?" Millions of children left


I have just completed a round of visits to four Vancouver schools that
are implementing new approaches to helping struggling students.  While
the changes grow to some degree out of programs already underway, the
sole impetus for the extra attention to the needs of struggling
students
is NCLB.  The universal feeling in the four schools is that things are
better now for struggling students than they were before and they will
get even better as time goes on.  I suspect that there are many
schools
across the land that are doing many of the same things with the same
degree of optimism. Whether these efforts and optimism will bear the
fruit of higher test scores is another matter.  But even if test
scores
don't go up and even if NCLB goes away, staying the course I saw in
our
schools will clearly help a lot of kids. 

Art
_____________

>>> ShopMathEdu@aol.com 01/08/03 11:51AM >>>
Dear ARN Folks:

They are calling this the first "anniversary" of the NCLB (aka: 
MCLB....millions of children left behind) act.

How can the one year mark of such an inhumane piece of legislation be
called 
an anniversary?

Is there to cause to celebrate the one year mark since the educational

equivalent of martial law has been declared against students,
teachers,
and 
curriculum?

For me, this day is more like a yarzheit, the Jewish tradition of
marking the 
first year since the death of dear one.

The NCLB leaves millions of children behind.  When children are left
behind, 
their educational careers, inquisitiveness and enthusiasm for life
becomes 
derailed.  Without education, people are doomed to a lifetime of
servitude, 
uncertainty, insecurity and an early death.

For me, this is a yarzheit, where we pause to reflect on the many
wasted 
lives which NCLB will impose upon this land.  This is a tragic day of 
mourning for our community; a mourning for lives which have been lost,
and 
for lives which shall be lost.

We have seen the results of NCLB-esque practices here in Birmingham,
and they 
are devastating.  Young people pushed out of school to raise test
scores.  
Teachers and administrators acting like guards and wardens instead of
student 
advocates.

We have seen the blood stained sidewalks, and the fresh dirt shoveled
onto a 
cement vault, containing a casket, which contains the cold body of a
young 
person who sincerely believed they didn't have a future and whose
dreams were 
deferred....deferred....and deferred once too many times.

Please keep NCLB far far away from our students, our schools, and our
land.

Thank you, ARN folks, for all that you do to defend students and
education.

Warmest peacebuilding greetings,

Steve Orel
Birmingham, Alabama
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