Your March 21 editorial, “The school reform backlash,” missed the mark.
The No Child Left Behind law forces teachers to teach to a test, not to the child. When test scores translate to funding (or lack of), education suffers.
Also learning isn’t often measurable, nor is it neat and incremental.
Sometimes kids regress in an area, as they master another arena. The preschooler proudly ties her sneakers, yet the 12-year-old, whose hands are suddenly man-size, now struggles tying a knot.
Some aren’t capable of learning as much as another, nor are all kids college-bound.
As a mother of four, I see firsthand how different each child is.
The most frightening part of No Child Left Behind, however, which your editorial failed to mention, is that all high-schoolers’ academic records are now automatically given to the military for recruitment. Parents should be outraged at the violation of privacy.
Our most precious commodity, our youth, is being wooed into soldiers for the promise of a college education.
Given the fact that much of the military front line is composed of poor kids of color, this is unconscionable.
Big Brother really is watching, leaving no child behind.
