Fwd: [arn2-strategy] NCLB Repudiated on Home Turf

[Susan Harman <susanharman@igc.org>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>
> Date: Tue Jul 15, 2008  2:00:34 PM US/Eastern
> To: ARN Main List <arn-l@interversity.org>,  arn2-strategy  
> <arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [arn2-strategy] NCLB Repudiated on Home Turf
> Reply-To: arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com
>
> WHO THINKS NCLB STINKS? TEXAS REPUBLICANS, THAT'S WHO
> Dallas Morning News "Dallas ISD" Blog -- July 14, 2008
> By Kent Fischer
>
> Paul Burka down at Texas Monthly is slogging and blogging through
> political party platform papers.  He's got some initial thoughts posted
> about Republicans, and promises to do the same for Democrats.
>
> But he hasn't blogged one amazing tidbit I found on page 16 of the GOP
> platform,  whereby the state's Republicans officially declare NCLB "a
> massive failure [that] should be abolished."
>
> Cripes! Do the good folks who wrote this platform paper realize that
> Texas Republicans basically midwifed NCLB?
>
> And that NCLB is the centerpiece of their Texas Republican President's
> domestic policy?
>
> And that its implementation was orchestrated by loyal Texas GOP'ers in
> Rod Paige and Margaret Spellings (who, by the way, some have rumored
> might run for office upon her return to Texas)?
>
> And that NCLB was modeled after the Texas accountability system which
> was designed by Texans (Sandy Kress)? Question: Given that, why doesn't
> the GOP also call for abolishing the state accountability system?
>
> To see the state GOP now slap down NCLB, well that seems to be a
> striking reversal on what was hoped to be the President's domestic
> policy legacy.
>
> Some other interesting stuff in there regarding education which I will
> excerpt after the jump ...
>
> School choice ranks No. 6 out of the GOP's 10 "fundamental principals."
> It comes right after "Traditional marriage is the foundational unit of  
> a
> healthy society" (No. 5) and "Strong and vibrant private sector
> unencumbered by government regulation" (No. 7).
>
> Republicans also oppose mandatory kindergarten, saying "parents are  
> best
> suited to train their children in their early development..." That one
> surprised me. I didn't realize that somebody could be against  
> kindergarten.
>
> The platform, not surprisingly, calls for lawmakers to "enact
> child-centered school funding options - which fund the student, not
> schools or districts - to allow maximum freedom of choice in public,
> private or parochial education for all children." In a word, vouchers.
> Again, no surprise there.
>
> And, they want to abolish bilingual education: "The best method is an
> 'English Immersion Program.' " I've heard lots of people of all
> political stripes say the same thing over the years.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> -
>
> http://dallasisdblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/07/who-thinks-nclb- 
> stinks-texas-r.html
>
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