Re: Democracy Left Behind

[aburke5054@aol.com]

Maybe if we had better people running the schools they could figure out 
how to give kids reading and math tests without driving kids nuts and 
undermining democracy and exposing the United States to takeover by, 
say, Lichtenstein.

Artu

-----Original Message-----
From: Monty Neill <monty@fairtest.org>
To: care@yahoogroups.com; ndsgroup@yahoogroups.com; RScriticalteach 
<RScriticalteach@lists.execpc.com>; ARN-state@yahoogroups.com; ARN-L 
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Sent: Thu, 1 Nov 2007 11:07 am
Subject: [arn-l] Democracy Left Behind


The video "Democracy Left Behind" provides valuable insights into both 
the
harmful consequences for education and democracy of the federal No 
Child Left
Behind Law and rich educational practices in which students learn 
democracy by
practicing it.



With voices from educators across the nation, the video points out that 
under
the NCLB testing regime, students will not learn to think or problem 
solve,
undermining democracy. Students experience a loss of time for 
exploration,
discovery, learning in depth. Test-based schooling deepens the 
disconnect
between students lives and schools, contributing to alienation and 
dropping out.




Though these consequences are felt most intensely in schools serving 
low-income
children, they affect even well-to-do schools that are forced to turn 
to
"artificial education instead of real education."



Still, the video shows many examples of the kind of engaging teaching 
and
learning about democracy that all schools should do. Such teaching 
requires
time, skilled instruction, and patience.



The video raises questions that it does not entirely answer: Is the 
vision of
democracy displayed in these schools deep and rich enough? How much 
could
schools actually do in the face of NCLB if educators and parents 
together
insisted they would not allow the tests to control their schools? But 
it is a
measure of the quality of the video that it raises complex issues and 
provides
rich information for considering them.



$24.95  from: www.DocMakerOnline.com



Monty Neill



The flyer for the video:



DEMOCRACY LEFT BEHIND  (57 min)  2007



How effectively do our public schools prepare students for active 
participation
in democratic society?  Is there a relationship between an often 
ill-informed
public and the manner in which social and political issues are 
addressed in our
nation's classrooms?



In Democracy Left Behind, award-winning documentary filmmaker Bob 
Gliner,
examines the impact of No Child Left Behind on the ability of schools 
to serve a
civic mission - demonstrating how difficult it is now for many students 
to
understand what their education means in the larger context of the 
society and
world they inhabit.



Filmed in a broad cross-section of economically and culturally diverse 
schools,
including provocative interviews with teachers, administrators, and 
nationally
known experts, Democracy Left Behind shows why learning to become an 
active and
knowledgeable citizen should be an integral part of learning basic 
educational
skills such as reading and math, rather than something only too easily 
forgotten
in the pursuit of higher test scores.



Will surely add to the national debate around No Child Left Behind and 
the role
our public schools play in helping shape American society.



Ordering Information:



$24.95  from: www.DocMakerOnline.com

Monty Neill, Ed.D.
Co-Executive Director
FairTest
342 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-864-4810 x 101;  fax 617-497-2224
monty@fairtest.org
http://www.fairtest.org
Donate: https://secure.entango.com/servlet/donate/MnrXjT8MQqk=






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