Stunned! Is this going on where you live? - Page 4

[Greaseball]

Does anyone know why the National Organization of Women (or is it for women?) thinks the NCLB is a good thing? In many of their newsletters, they call it "beneficial."

[Artisan]

Originally Posted by Greaseball

Homeschooling might be possible for some, in a way they hadn't thought of - just pull your kid out of school and leave him at home all day, if he's over the legal age in your state. (In my state it's 10.) You'd be free to work, and the child could "unschool" himself. Homeschooling is legal in all states; some have more restrictions than others but all you have to do is submit documentation of what your child learns. The tests may still be required, but there will be a lot fewer and homeschooled/unschooled kids tend to do better on them, anyway.

I support ps with my taxes; I don't have to send a kid there to support them. We also support them by dh working there - true, they pay him, but not nearly what he is worth.

I'm not really sure leaving your ten year old at home all day while you work is the best way to fight NCLB... nor the best thing for your child.

[BusyMommy]

I'm truly shocked you (OP) say they're mainstreaming SpEd kids w/o aides. What about their IEPs? How can they do that legally? I'd be really suspicious about that.

Yep, as a teacher, I can say it totally sucks. Good intention, but it's wreaking sooo much damage.

whoops, kid chaos

[Lucysmama]

Did ya'll know that when a Teacher's Union criticized NCLB, our dear Secretary of Education called them a "terrorist organization"? :Puke

We are either going to homeschool or do our local Waldorf school.

[gardenmom]

Oh boy...dd is not even close to school age yet, but I just got a 'isnt NCLB great?' pamphlet mailed to me by my congresswoman. I put it aside, but I think I better read it now.

What a mess they're making of the schools.

Both my in-laws teach in FL, and this year was the first time that I heard MIL making comments like she was sick of teaching, after many years of loving it...and they're not even started with the NCLB thing yet...She is a great (3rd grade) teacher, and it's a shame, but the paperwork and testing requirements have just beaten her down until she lost all her enthusiasm for it. It's really sad.

[isleta]

Special needs children can be excempt if the parents sign a waiver.

I have fully included 2 autistic children and now they have aides for about 2 hours a day and they shadow and help with the room. In my district they are trying to mainstream, but actually some parents do not want this for their child.

Full inclusion can and does work however, it is rough because most teachers do not have training on special needs students. So, IMO without an aide would be difficult for some students.

We do have a scholl that does reverse inclusion where typical kids are mainstreamed into special needs class for part of the day-my sister is trying to get a position there and was impressed with the program.

Regards to NCLB I cannot tell you hhow many emails, comics, etc are put in the teacher's lounge regarding it-teach to the test!

[Suzannah]

Originally Posted by Greaseball

Homeschooling might be possible for some, in a way they hadn't thought of - just pull your kid out of school and leave him at home all day, if he's over the legal age in your state. (In my state it's 10)

This sentence scares the crap out of me; would you actually do this? An unsupervised 10 year old alone all day?

[Greaseball]

I don't know. It would depend on the law and of course on the child. My child would be safer alone all day than in ps, that's for sure. It's not really my plan, though. And I'd never do it if the child wasn't ok with it.

[marilynmama]

yep Bush AND Kerry both support NCLB (kinda like the both supported the war amount other things). Bush and Kerry are both big time money, big time controlled by corporations, neither of them see's what really goes on in our lives and don't kid yourself about it. They are both way to similiar for my taste, Im not sure who I will vote for but anyways that is another topic.....lol

I am absolutly against NCLB.

I homeschool my girls but I am also a fulltime pre-medical student and I know my girls will have to attend public school in 3 years when I start medical school so this NCLB greatly concerns me....I'm scared it will be worse then than it is now, but what the heck can we do about it!? Serioulsy, what should we do to stop this insanity? And dont say vote Bush out, because that really wont stop it, we need to think of *real action* and I don't see it, where is the public outcry over this?! I mean hello, Im a homeschooler and it concerns me, where are the parents whose kids ARE in ps?

What if there was some sort of national walk out day over this--surely that would get some attention, no?

Marilyn

[daylily]

Maybe in three years, this legislation will be trashed and no longer affect us. In our district, the assistant superintendent and some school board members visited each school to explain how NCLB would affect us, and the assistant supe said that since many of the regulations defy logic, we should expect that, at least, modifications will be made to the law.

[Greaseball]

What if there was some sort of national walk out day over this--surely that would get some attention, no?

That's a good idea...I think the solution is for kids to just refuse to take the tests, and for parents to tell the school they support their child's decision.

There is a charter school in my area that says they are required to administer the tests, but that they don't require the students to actually take them. I like that approach; make it voluntary.

But as long as we have parents thinking that test-taking needs to be taught in schools and that test scores actually mean something about their child, it won't happen.

[kira]

Walk out day is a good idea. Or how about a march on Washinton/state capitols? Families, teachers, librarians?

[Artisan]

Walkouts could work... except in my state, they require you to take (but not pass) the tests for graduation.

[Greaseball]

So you could take the test, but get a zero, and still graduate? That's not so difficult - just write your name and leave everything else blank, then join the walkout!

[Artisan]

No, one of the state rules is that you must sit for the entire three hour test. And you must sit for the entire three hours in five subjects. As proctors, you cannot allow anyone to leave for bathroom breaks, they cannot sleep, and they cannot bring in any outside reading materials.

A sickout might be more effective in an elementary school where there is no grad requirement. If parents organized to all call and say their child was sick on the day of the test, the district would get the message. And if it started happening with regularity around the country, that would REALLY send a message.

[EFmom]

I think that if you want to make an impact, you need to organize and be vocal about it, and contact your representatives. If you keep the kid out, the school just gives the test as soon as the reappear.

I live in NYS. Some parents in Scarsdale (very affluent area) started boycotting the tests. It seemed like the local school officials actually agreed with the parents and were a little sympathetic, as much as they could be. It didn't take long for the State Ed dept to lean heavily on the school and before long it seems, the issue was snuffed out.

However, I think if enough schools in the state started having most of the kids stay home on testing days, the message would be conveyed.

[Greaseball]

To me it's not the actual test that's the problem (though there is plenty wrong with it!); it's the weeks of useless learning that go before it. I'd have no problem with an occasional test if class could be taught as usual, instead of "test review" that just wastes the students' time. So keeping a child out of school only on the date of the test might not actually do much. I guess it would send a message to the school, but it wouldn't do much for the child.

Our district is always saying "Oh no, we don't teach to the test!" But then they turn around and admit some of the things they are doing differently in their teaching are because of the tests.

[gardenmom]

Originally Posted by Greaseball

To me it's not the actual test that's the problem (though there is plenty wrong with it!); it's the weeks of useless learning that go before it.

My MIL (3rd grade, FL) admits (and dislikes) that she spends nearly 1/2 the year almost exclusively preparing kids to pass the tests...yet I know that she also feels that some level of testing is necessary in order to assess where the kids stand/what they're capable of. There's just gotta be a better way.

[DebraBaker]

I couldn't agree with you more about teaching for the test.

Rabid mother chasing dust bunnies over that one!

db

[Mommy2Brittani]

Originally Posted by BathrobeGoddess

Did you know that they are going to test head start kids this year? Did these people even read any education psyc before they wrote that piece of trash?

I am soon to be a teacher (actually have 1 more year of classes left) with a pre-k emphasis...And that goes against everything I have read in any of my classes. Esp. in my Developmentally Appropriate Practice book.

Observation is the foundation of a developmentally appropriate play-based curriculum. To assess a young child’s development through standardized testing would be developmentally inappropriate for the age of the child, according to Developmentally Appropriate Practice a book put out by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and edited by Sue Bredekamp and Carol Copple (pg 25 and 133). However, observing a child at play provides authentic, real-life information and experiences about what the child is interested in, and capable of. The teacher can then use this information, to provide appropriate materials to enrich and extend a child’s learning experience, individualize the curriculum to be appropriate for that child, and as a basis for discussion about the things their child is interested in and able to do.

I am quoting that part in my final paper, in fact.