No Child Left Behind

The first thing I read on the website about the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is the July 2005 Nation's Report Card (NAEP) saying it is working because "student achievement is rising across America". Well, I may be a simple-minded jello-brained mother of seven, but I'm thinking "Of course it is." When told "You must meet this requirement", most people (children included) will do their best, dig in their heels and strive to achieve. According to the website it's been four years (the Act was signed January 8, 2002) and what I am wondering is what happens long-term? What happens when kids have been knocking themselves out to achieve what the government has suddenly decided they should (which, in all honesty, is OVERachieving in my opinion) for years on end?

Think about it: there were high-schoolers who buckled down thinking, "I'm almost out of here anyway"...and the younger set who are telling themselves, "it can't be this hard forever"...and the little ones who are looking around slightly confused and thinking, "Wow...so this is school." It has now been four years and reality is setting in. What I would like to know is how the kids are doing who were caught in first grade at the beginning of NCLB in say, four more years when they're in eighth grade - when they've realized their goals are lofty, the work is hard all the time, they have realized Mom and Dad can no longer help with homework because students are now learning things two or three years ahead of when Mom and Dad learned them and Mom and Dad simply no longer know the answers.

How about in six more years when reality has reared its ugly head and kids have had ample time to realize that they are barely hanging on and they have three more years to go and somehow manage to work in senior projects alongside the three hours of homework at night. Why don't we check on them seven years from now when they are supposed to be scheming to earn money to set aside for that first car and they realize they don't have time to look for a job, nevermind work because there is too much to do for school.

Not every child will be groping for a handhold on the school ladder. Not every child will be gasping for air and praying they don't drown so their friends or family think they're dumb. I am sure there are children who will seem to sail right through this system (there always are, although I am fairly sure they will have to work harder than the "golden children" of years past. What I do not see anyone asking is "For the children who were struggling before NCLB what is 'Plan B' for when their self-confidence is shattered, when they're feeling beaten down and too stupid for society, when they are out of school and facing the job market already dreading the thought of getting into another situation where someone will set the goals they need to meet day in and and day out for the rest of their lives?"

What is the plan of action for the children who grow into the adults who can no longer hold in the anguish of doing their best and continually falling behind? Bigger prisons? A more lenient welfare system to support those who cannot support themselves? Wraparound aides as a matter of course for daily living?

Where, o wise government officials, will America be ten to fourteen years from now when the country is left in the hands of the frustrated, beaten down, angry and depressed children we (in our infinite wisdom) have set up to fail? Yes, the situation looks good right now. Is it not time to look beyond our limited time in office and into America's future?