Thursday, September 11, 2008
McCain Promises to 'Shake Up' Schools
Recently at the GOP National Convention, Senator and Republican Nominee for President John McCain made a statement saying, "Education is the civil rights issue of this century." It is in question what exactly McCain would do to achieve national and state standards if he should be elected President. Will he "alter NCLB law?" Although McCain has not been active on education issues in the past, he did vote in favor for the NCLB legislation in 2001. The controlling idea of the bill was and is aimed at holding schools and teachers accountable for their student's academic achievement, measured adequate yearly progress in the forms of standardized testing. McCain has been labeled "the champion of rigorous assessment and accountability in public education" by his supporters. When asked what he would do differently from President Bush on federal education policy, McCain said that he would "seek immediate help for students in failing schools" and "expand private school choice." With the future of NCLB unable to be determined, what should educators be concerned about? Will the NCLB legislation remain as is in the coming years? Or will it be reinterpreted and improved? The article also states that many congressman blindly voted for NCLB, not completely understanding its implications. Will the election of a new president bring innovation?
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2 comments:
I think that the newly elected President needs to re-examine the principles of NCLB. It needs to be remodified and better explained so that we and teachers all over the country are better informed on what it expects. What exactly will McCain's approach be to helping failing schools that are struggling to meet strict yet lofty standards? Students progress needs to be measured on not just their yearly aptitude according to the teachers successes and falterings, but also on their personal growth and improvement. We can't just be pushing our students through expecting them to make the grade, and if they don't they have to change schools? How will that help?
I think that there is too much adversity to the NCLB act to keep it as is for much longer. I also feel that if McCain is promising to do something about the education standards in schools, he needs to be more specific about it. I will be voting for the first time this november and I feel compelled to know as much as I can about the candidates. In doing such research, it astounds me how vague and uncommiting they can be. This is just another example. We need to know what exactly the plans for improvement in our schools are. Whoever wins this election will definitely need to look at the failing schools and realize that the NCLB act is not to the overall benefit of students. Shouldn't this be the main goal of education in the first place? I agree with Bailey that the newly elected president needs to re-examine the principles of NCLB and explain them more clearly to a wider audience. Education is an institution meant to teach students about the world they will shortly join. Shouldn't that world also learn about the generation that will be joining it? Shouldn't the government care more about its people individually and less about its image as a country? These are the problems that need to be addressed. I hope McCain will be able, as he assures us, to really "shake up" the system, because it definitely needs it.
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