FW: [Krashen] "ugliness and stupidity"

["John Lawhead" <twoflightsup@hotmail.com>]

A good response to the N.Y. Times from the Stephen Krashen list ...

>From: Krashen-MailList@sdkrashen.com >To: krashen-maillist@sdkrashen.com
>Subject: [Krashen] "ugliness and stupidity" >Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 22:03:00
-0800 > >This is an Announcement Only list. >Please do not reply to this message.
>_______________________________________________ > >  Joanne Yatvi's  powerful
letter to the NY Times editorial, in >which they badly misunderstand the problem
with NCLB > > >Letter to the editor of the NY Times, by Joanne Yatvin > >Although
I disagree with your opinion (Editorial, 3/2/04) of the >motives of both the Bush
administration in pushing the No Child Left >Behind >Act (NCLB) and the National
Education Association (NEA) in opposing >it, >motives are not the issue.  Results
are.  So far, NCLB has, >proportionally, >done the most harm to the poor and
minority students it purports to >help, by >denying so many of them graduation,
holding them back in grade, >pushing them >out of school, and offering them test
prep instead of good teaching. >  So >far, instead of putting a highly qualified
teacher in every >classroom, NCLB >has driven the best teachers toward affluent
suburban schools or >premature >retirement, offered early career teachers
"training" in how to >parrot >scripted programs, tarnished the reputations of
experienced teachers >who are >teaching courses in addition to the ones they are
certified for, and >facilitated the issuance of "quickie" licenses to those who
think >they >"might like" to teach.  What new wonders does this deceitful and
>vicious law >have in store? > >Democrats are talking about the under-funding of
NCLB because >that is what members of the public who do not have children in
>school can >most easily understand.  Many politicians of both parties know-as
>Howard >Dean was not afraid to say-that money alone can't transform this >sow's
ear >into a silk purse. The repeal of NCLB, with all its ugliness and >stupidity,
>and replacing it with true education reform should be the goal off >all
>Americans who sincerely care about education. > >Sincerely yours, > >Joanne
Yatvin >(Former public school teacher and administrator; >member of the National
Reading Panel) > > > >New York Times editorial >Rescuing Education Reform
>2004-03-02 > >Democratic presidential candidates have discovered that there's no
>more surefire applause line than an attack on the No Child Left >Behind Act. The
law was meant to deliver on President Bush's promise >to improve public school
education. But many teachers and school >districts resent being forced to meet
the law's tough standards. >Some of the strongest resistance has come from
Republican states >like Utah, which are considering laws that would limit their
>compliance. > >The Bush administration has the high ground here. Although the
>program needs more funds and better administration, No Child Left >Behind is
tackling one of the nation's most critical problems: the >substandard educational
opportunities offered to poor and minority >children. > >Fifty years have sped by
since the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. >Board of Education that the practice
of confining black children to >segregated and often inferior schools violated
the Constitution and >generally consigned African-Americans to second-class
citizenship. >Nevertheless, all around the country, poor children are still
>trapped in failing schools, which poison their futures from the very >start. >
>The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was intended to fix this >problem. It
requires the states to adopt high standards for all >children and to place a
qualified teacher in every classroom by 2006 >in exchange for federal dollars.
The new law will need tinkering >here and there. But its goal and its general
road map for getting >there are the right ones. For the effort to truly equalize
education >to succeed, Congress will need to fight off destructive schemes by
>lobbyists and bureaucrats of both parties who are working hard to >undermine the
new initiative and to preserve the bad old status quo. > >No Child Left Behind
was the result of one of George Bush's most >famous campaign promises. But the
Bush administration has sadly >turned out to be part of the problem. > >The
Department of Education, under the inept leadership of Rod >Paige, has been
painfully slow in adopting regulations on how the >states can comply with the
law. The administration was forced by >Congress to accept the most crucial
provision, which requires the >states to hire only qualified teachers, and it has
failed to enforce >that provision adequately. > >One of the most serious
complaints about the law is that the federal >government is asking states for big
improvements in local schools >but is not providing the money to pay for such
changes. The Bush >administration is correct when it says that school financing
went up >sharply under the new law. The money for Title I, which is aimed at >the
poorest students, went up by nearly a third - with >proportionately more of the
money going to the poorest districts. >But the Title I allotment is also $6
billion short of what Congress >authorized when it passed the law, and the amount
states are getting >is certainly not adequate to meet the tough standards the law
sets. > >A retrograde faction of Democrats wants to use the financing gap as >an
excuse for backing away from the law. Last year, for example, >Senator Richard
Durbin of Illinois floated an amendment that would >have exempted the states from
complying at all until the federal >government had paid out all of the money it
had promised. The bill >was morally indefensible and deserved to fail. Students
are already >entitled under law to quality education, no matter how poor the
>neighborhood in which they live. The fact that the federal >government should be
giving more aid does not exempt the states from >their fundamental
responsibilities. > >Democratic legislators are also fearful of the National
Education >Association, the country's largest and most powerful teachers' >union.
The union has a history of vigorously resisting >standards-based change and is
dead set against making teachers >subject to federally dictated qualification and
performance >standards. While Mr. Paige made an egregious error in referring to
>the union as a "terrorist organization," the N.E.A. has not served >the cause of
quality education well in this fight, particularly when >it attempts to turn
suburban parents against the new law. > >Instead of pandering to the law's
opponents, whoever wins the >Democratic nomination needs to seize what may be the
country's last >opportunity to achieve basic fairness in public education. That
>means standing up to wavering Democrats who are eager for a chance >to jump
ship. >_______________________________________________ >Krashen-MailList mailing
list >To modify your membership on this list please goto the address below.
>http://sdkrashen.com/mailman/listinfo/krashen-maillist_sdkrashen.com >This is an
Announcement Only list. >Please do not reply to this message.

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

Find things fast with the new MSN Toolbar ? includes FREE pop-up blocking!