Re: deluded to the max

[aburke5054@aol.com]

 This is not the first time I have heard the claim that states, districts, schools, or teachers are doing all kinds of ridiculous things and the fault is entirely due to NCLB. As you might guess, I am not convinced the the bolame belings entirely at the door of NCLB and repeating this claim to me is not going to convince me. 
 
 There was a time when the schools were not as open to children with special needs as they are now. Following the pleas of parents of children with special needs, Congress enacted legislation to open the schools to them and to set standards for their education. I believe NCLB is a significant advance for the rights of children with special needs because it gives schools the responsibility of improving services for them just the same as for other children. There were problems in the schools for chldren with special needs before NCLB and there still are. I have no doubt about that. But as yiou journey onwards with children with special needs, you might consider looking for the express trains within NCLB instead of the train wrecks that you think are the only thing here.
 
 Art  
 -----Original Message-----
 From: waywilldo@hotmail.com
 To: arn-l@interversity.org
 Cc: waywilldo@hotmail.com
 Sent: Thu, 23 Nov 2006 10:11 PM
 Subject: Re: [arn-l] deluded to the max
 
  Dear Art, 
 You should spend a day in the trenches with a inter-city special ed teacher. Before NCLB we worked with children who were either in need of special education for a severe learning disability of emotional disorder in a self contained classroom. We used one on one instruction, individually designed learning level oriented programs, and a great deal of trained instinct to work with our special kids. These were kids, who when tested, showed that these methods of education, would benefit the most by special programs. NCLB came along and for some reason teachers like myself are no longer able to help parents make an informed decision on what is best for their disabled child. The state now tells us, because of NCLB rules, we must put every child in the regular classroom, everyday, and every class if they have an IQ of 55. No other measurement or other consideration can be used to make that determination because IQ tells us the child belongs in the regular classroom. I can no longer follow the IEP, we must write a new one to meet the NCLB requirements. Don't worry about IDEA, the one that is actually the law which states how I am supposed to represent my students needs. We can only let 3% of our kids take alternative tests because NCLB states that the rest of our population falls into that NCLB norm which has determined the other 97% will take a SAT10 even if they fall into the category where their emotional level will never be greater than a fourth grader. You should have to watch a mentally disabled childs face when they are ridiculed by other students because they cannot do the things that are required by NCLB. To be honest, I would love for all children to be a perfect 100%, like you say that the government wants us to step up to the plate and bat for. The only problem is that a lot of people like yourself seem to forget that, just like 100% of politicians will never be honest, 100% of our kids do not need the same education that NCLB requires. We can all continue this debate until hell freezes over but the simple truth is we are all part of a societal problem which has allowed those who know the least to govern in areas where they should be listening to those who need the most. In this case education and whether you agree or not; whether you want to believe all the research which shows that various segments of the student population are being damaged by it; whether you think that fair test has never made a valid point in their history; whether you think that I'm just the typical burned out teacher who just wants to make it to retirement; whether you think the other teachers like me are all just a bunch of NEA loving fools. As my Grandfather put it, NCLB has more holes in it than 10 pounds of swiss cheese. One of the largest is the way it treats special populations. A friend of mind who has a Doctorate in Special Education and is a lawyer too put it like this. There is a train wreck coming that will finally either tear NCLB apart simply because enough people will finally say enough, but the casualties of that wreck will be our special kids who were left behind by a system that was never built to include them. 
 Sincerely, 
 Wayne W. Special Education Teacher 
 
 >From: aburke5054@aol.com 
 >Reply-To: arn-l@interversity.org 
 >To: arn-l@interversity.org 
 >Subject: Re: [arn-l] deluded to the max 
 >Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:59:06 -0500 
 > 
 >-----Original Message----- 
 > From: gbracey1@verizon.net 
 > To: arn-l@interversity.org 
 > Sent: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 10:07 AM 
 > Subject: [arn-l] deluded to the max 
 > 
 > As someone who wrote an anti-NCLB tract before the plan even had a name, >almost a full year before the plan became law (Newsday, January 28, 2001), >I would like to pronounce my self at this time King of the Terminally >Deluded and ask a few questions from the throne. 
 > _______________________________________________________ 
 > 
 > 1). If the goal of NCLB was to improve public schools, why did it >contain provisions for vouchers? 
 > ________________________________________________________________________ 
 > Linking vouchers to NCLB is a total red-herring. They were in there >initially because significant Republican constituencies wanted them. >Significant Republican constituences probably still want them. Vouchers >would probably have then helped parents who want choices for their kids and >would probably help them now. President Bush did not to my knowledge fight >very hard for vouchers in NCLB and to my knowledge he did not advance them >very much as Governor of Texas. 
 > 2). Why does anyone think rising test scores = improved schools? 
 > ___________________________________________________________ 
 > I don't know that anyone believes that test scores are the only indicator >of the health of the schools, but they are certainly important ones and >ones that for better or worse we are able to develop large-scale systems to >monitor. You have to start somewhere. A more salient question is why the >public education system has not itself advanced clearer, more specific, and >more comprehensive models for what improving schools should mean. Academics >haven't been of overwhelming help here, either (see below). 
 > You castigate educators for gaming the testing system, but in so doing >you ignore Campbell's Law 
 > __________________________________________________ 
 > The Golden Rule trumps Campbell's Law. 
 > 
 > Or, to repeat Bracey's Paradox, circa 1979, Test Scores Only Mean >Something When You Don't Pay Any Attention To Them. ..David Berliner and >Sharon Nichols will expand their long (188 pages) documented corruption >from high-stakes testing in Collateral Damage, due out in February. 
 > __________________________________________________________ 
 > Exercises in silliness. NYT has just summarized reports, for example, on >how far behind some minority kids are and how they fall farther behind as >they go through school. This is the problem we should be attacking and >distracting ourselves with nonsense that test scores don't mean anything >important and that we can't have reasonable systems for testing and school >improvement. 
 > 3) Why does anyone think 100% proficiency is attainable? 
 > ____________________________________________________ 
 > If the purpose of the goal of 100% proficiency is to drive improvement in >schools, what does it matter and at the same time why settle for anything >less? At just what point do you want to give up on improving schools, >particularly the schools that serve large numbers of poor children, >minority children, and children whose home language is not English and give >up on improving all schools that serve students with other special needs? 
 > 
 > Art 
 > 
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