Good Op. Ed. by Michigan Teacher

[Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>]

 PAIGE TAKES OUT FRUSTRATION ON TEACHERS, WHO NEED MORE
FLEXIBILITY IN NATION'S RIGID EDUCATION LAWS
"TERRORIST COMMENT SPARKS DEBATE ON NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND LAW
Detroit News Op. Ed. -- March 5,2004
by Peter Maurer

Im a terrorist. I dont hate my government, and I dont secretly foment 
unrest. Im a terrorist because Secretary of Education Rod Paige said I 
was.

During a recent private White House meeting with the governors, Paige 
referred to the National Education Association (NEA) as a terrorist 
association. According to Gov. Jim Doyle of Wisconsin, Paiges exact 
words were, The NEA is a terrorist association.

Paiges remarks were a result of the frustration President George W. 
Bush and his party have felt since 11 states have opted not to receive 
federal money rather than implement the outlandish requirements of the 
No Child Left Behind Act.

The NEA, the nations largest teacher union, has been instrumental in 
pointing out to the feds just how onerous and misguided the No Child 
Left Behind legislation is, and how it will hurt schools across the 
country. NEA lobbyists have been working hard to change portions of the 
law or have it thrown out. Many state legislators agree with the NEA as 
they struggle, or quit trying, to comply with its myriad requirements.

Paige later said his remarks were aimed at the Washington-based NEA and 
not the millions of teachers who are members.

Sorry, Secretary Paige, that doesnt cut any mustard with me.

The NEA is not an organization made up of just lobbyists. The NEA is 
made up of 2.3 million hard-working, dedicated teachers. And Im just 
one of them.

So when Paige calls the NEA a terrorist organization, he is calling all 
of us terrorists, not just a handful of lobbyists in D.C.

Many state governors have sought some flexibility in the No Child Left 
Behind legislation, but have met stiff resistance from the Bush camp. 
The rigidity of No Child Left Behind has frustrated many educators and 
lawmakers alike.

No Child Left Behind is seriously flawed primarily for ignoring state 
teaching certificates when determining proper placement for teachers. 
Forget the fact that you might have been teaching sixth grade math with 
the states blessings for 30 years. Under No Child Left Behind, unless 
you have a math major, youre suddenly out of a job.

Or take the way a schools progress is measured. If a building does not 
show continuous progress, staff can be fired and parents allowed to take 
their students elsewhere. It is a great idea if your school is poorly 
performing.

But what if you are already one of the top-performing schools in the 
state and you cannot show any more progress or, God forbid, you slip one 
or two percentage points on your standardized test results one year?

Poof. Youre now branded as a failing school, even though you are one of 
the premier schools or districts in the region.

Another frustrating part of No Child Left Behind is the inane 
requirement that all children be proficient in school by 2014. Not most, 
not as many as possible, but all of them. Its a laudable goal, but one 
that is completely unattainable as anyone who has worked with children 
will tell you.

And what if 100 percent of your students are not proficient? Youre a 
failing school.

It is these and other requirements of No Child Left Behind that anger 
many parents and educators.

The NEAs reactions to No Child Left Behind are not obstructionist 
scare tactics as Paige further asserted, but the result of seeing the 
federal law for what it is  poor policy.

While the intent of No Child Left Behind is honorable, its effect, if 
fully implemented, will serve no purpose other than to further muddy the 
educational waters of this country and continue to undermine local 
control of schools, not to mention further alienate an 
already-demoralized teaching profession.

Not all schools are failures, and not all teachers incompetent. But, it 
seems, were all terrorists.

Pete Maurer is a Troy middle school science teacher and member of the 
Michigan Education Association, the states largest teacher union.


http://www.detnews.com/2004/editorial/0403/05/a09-82622.htm