No Child Left Behind is Leaving Students Behind

I'm strongly against No Child Left Behind, as are many teachers I know. Education isn't one size fits all, and isn't supposed to be. Students have many different educational needs, and they can't be treated as a collective whole. Students learn at different speeds and in different ways, not just one speed or one way. All students don't learn at the same pace, and they need to be on the same page before the whole class can move on. Lessons should never be rushed or hurried, it's important for students to get as much as they can out of them. Unfortunately, many teachers rush through the school day to get in as much test preparation and material as they can.

It's true that every child can learn, but children have individual capabilities and limits. NCLB tries to make students good at everything, but students have their strengths and weaknesses. Students need to focus on their strengths and nurture them instead of trying to make students learn about things that are just too hard for them. Students also need to learn things one step at a time, and NCLB causes teachers to have to cram the information into a short period of time instead.

Education needs to tailor to their needs, not try to make them all learn the same way, which can't even work. There are seven different learning styles, and all of them need to be accounted for. Not only is NCLB leaving regular education students, but special education students are being left behind too. Students in special education need to learn how to count change and order from menus, not arithmetic or algebra. NCLB is great in theory, but it's not realistically possible. NCLB makes special education students take tests they can't pass, which ends up hurting regular education students.

NCLB treats students like robots, but students aren't machines or computers. Students don't learn by countless hours of skill and drill or repetition, they learn by applying real life experience and using relevant examples. NCLB puts needless stress and pressure on students with high stakes testing. High stakes testing gives them unneeded anxiety, which hinders their performance. Education needs to be individualized to student's specific interests, especially in high school. Learning needs to be fun and enjoyable, but NCLB only takes the fun out of it. Learning needs to be about enjoyment, skills, goals, and personal progress. Regrettably, NCLB makes learning strictly about standards and testing.