Positives of No Child Left Behind
Quit Complaining! These Changes Are for the Better!
Usually I hear the No Child left Behind Act scowled upon in teacher's lounges across the state or ridiculed by veteran educators. I may not know enough about the law itself to understand what all the negative attitudes are for, but I know that I had to take a lot of schooling and preparation to be able to teach these kids, and when I do get that job know that I am "highly qualified" and ready to perform to the best of my ability. I recently read an article from The Journal of School Health that discussed the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB) in a positive way, proclaiming that it led to an increase not only in the academic achievements, but also increased their programs dealing with healthy social development and prevention. Numerous studies were conducted to predict academic achievement based on the child's adolescent behavior. For example they followed students in the seventh grade until the tenth grade and found that the students with antisocial, emotional or delinquent behavior at that age, led to disruptive or defiant behavior in the classroom, physical and relational aggression, and early initiation of substance use in later years.
The correlation between the young behavior patterns and the aged students was quite obvious. I, too, agree that students who use drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and practice other delinquent behavior would ultimately finish with lower grades and test scores, if they finish at all! With this said, the article showed schools had increased their bonding and peer pressure programs in order to meet NCLB standards. They feel that by focusing on the students social and emotional needs, everyone will benefit.
Furthermore, not only are the teaching requirements harder, something that I have experience first hand, but the facilities themselves are feeling the pressure to help these students achieve higher standards. If this is what every teacher in America is so angry about, I am not sure I want to go into that teacher's lounge and associate with those negative attitudes.
Published by Patti
Masters in Education - concentration in History and French Language View profile
- Bush's No Child Left Behind Act Inspires Comedic EffortsDeemed by many educators to be no more than a catchy slogan, the bureaucratic rigidity of the No Child Left Behind Act and its one-size-fits-all formulaic approach has made the legislation a formidable public target f...
- The Effect of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 on Special Education and LearningIn 2001, the US Congress passed the No Child Left Behind act with overwhelming bipartisan support. The law was unprecedented in its overhaul of the education system in the United States.
The Impact of the No Child Left Behind ActThe No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) addresses educational reform, but the reality of NCLB is that it acts as a smokescreen, designed to make people believe that the Bush adminis...- Will the No Child Left Behind Act Solve Problems with Our Education System?As our economy changes, is our educational system changing with it? Is the No Child Left Behind Act a detriment to our public educational system? Some say it is and some say the federal government needs out of education.
- What is the No Child Left Behind Act?What is the No Child Left Behind act and how does it benefit our children? Learn more here.
- Every Child Left Behind
- How The Recent Standards Of The No Child Left Behind Act Have Hurt Education
- The Damages of the No Child Left Behind Act
- How Children Become the Victims of the No Child Left Behind Act
- The No Child Left Behind Act Fails to Deliver
- No Child Left Behind Act Gives $3.5 Million Grant to Hawaii
- Understanding the No Child Left Behind Act
- www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/education ; Fleming, Charles B., Haggerty, Kevin P., Catalano, Richard F., Harachi, Tracy W., Mazza, James J., & Gruman, Diana H. (Nov 2005)Do social and behavioral characteristics targeted by preventive interventions predict standardized test scores and grades?(academic achievement prediction). In Journal of School Health, 75, p342(8). Retrieved February 13, 2006.
- Why are we complaining so much?
- This is better for the children, which is the point of our job.
- There are many teachers now highly qualified that would love to take your job if you don't want it
5 Comments
Post a CommentI disagree, the No child Left behind act is detrimental to a child's learning and creative growth. The fact is that students from disadvantaged areas that don't score well on tests are penalized as opposed to the ones who come from the more affluent communities. And because of the pressures of high stakes testing, more schools are opting to do away with recess in favor of more testing. It's testing, testing testing, but doing away with recess only adds to the problem of growing obesity. The fact is that for many kids, the 45 minutes that they receive in physical education classes is about all the exercise they get during the day. With computers and phones, and gaming more prevalent now, more children are leading sedentary lives. The facts show that in 1985 less than 10% of the United States was overweight or obese, in 2010 nearly 30-40% of the country is overweight or obese, and it's not getting any better. There are children coming out of elementary school who are 8 and 9 years old who weigh close to 100 pounds. A nine year old weighs what someone would way if they were 16 or 17? Is that normal? No it's not.
I agree with you that the school should not be penalized based soley on standarized tests. There are many other factors that contribute to it.
I disagree. The No Child Left Behind Act is not about those so-called antisocial children. It is about whole schools. The people who are suffering aren't the single 'bad' children that aren't doing well in middle- and upper-class high schools. The people who are feeling it are the schools in lower-class and below poverty line schools, schools where the students are do not get help with their homework at school, where the children *start out* with an academic and social disadvantage. The No Child Left Behind Act removes funding from schools whose students do not do well on standardized tests. The argument is that it is the school's fault for not utilizing the money properly to educate its students. The truth, however, is often that the disadvantaged schools suffer because their students have a harder time with the tests. It is not the school's fault. Imagine this, two students from different backgrounds that are having a hard time in their algebra class. The first, from
Good article, more teachers need to think like that.
As a teacher of 10 years now and continuing to keep my certification current and be highly qualified and meet the demands of national and state standards, it is just as hard as the days I was in college preparing. The only difference is is that I too have lost the gung-ho attitude that I will be different and never be negative, there have been many times, mostly administrative that we have to deal with. Leave no child behind is the top of a gripe list with teachers because it doesn't focus on the real important aspects of what is going on with the students, for example their home life, parent support, prior history, language, culture, etc. The importance of each student's education in the underfunded, over-crowded classroom is put soley in the hands of the teacher. And if they are not succeding, it is our fault and the school and we fail as educators. There needs to be a lot more to it than that. I agree that some negativity could definitely be erased, but there are always grip