No Child Left Behind my behind!

"In America, no child should be left behind. Every child should be educated to his or her full potential."

It was graduation day Saturday. I attended the graduation ceremony at Pembroke Academy, then hustled out to Hancock to attend the celebratory BBQ being held by the family of two graduates from ConVal High School. At both events there arose discussion over the effectiveness of the educational system.

At Pembroke Academy, the headmaster spoke about the difficulties of life from here on out for the Seniors. Although I found his speech to be quite a downer for a high school graduation (from what I could hear anyway over the lousy PA system), I did find one remark he made to be useful. He spoke of how far behind we still are in education compared to other countries. It's one of the reasons cited by President Bush when he sold us the No Child Left Behind legislation 6 years ago.

A gentleman who attended the ceremony with me remarked that although the other countries may be graduating students at higher rates, this doesn't necessarily mean these people are receiving a higher standard of education. He is an engineer who works with people around the world, and he commented that these "highly educated" people have often frustrated him in their inability to understand and process his designs.

At the BBQ there was much talk about the practice of schools now to rarely keep a failing student back. Schools move children on to the next level of education, no matter their abilities and successes. Being the parent of three children in school, I know this to be fact. I have had teachers tell me that my child is failing, but in the next breath tell me that I don't need to worry about that child having to repeat the grade. The child is required to attend summer school but will still move on to the next grade level even if he fails at this as well. Now I ask you, where's the motivation to do well? My child who is failing this year told me a few months ago that it didn't matter if he worked hard to pass, he knew he would not be staying behind. He quoted to me "No child left behind". Some of the people at the BBQ also thought the No Child Left Behind legislation meant children were required to move on despite their failing grades. This is a misinterpretation.

The legislation is aimed specifically at the quality of education. It is intended to hold schools and teachers accountable for our children learning what we deem important. What is deemed important is reading and math, that's it. Children in grades 3 through 8 are tested on a regular basis specifically to evaluate whether the schools are doing their job. They are tested only in reading and math skills. "Failing" schools are then rewarded with monies in order to implement improvements in their program. Parents also are given the freedom of choosing another school to transfer their children if the school they are attending is failing. There is nothing anywhere in the legislation which requires schools to just move children through the system regardless of whether these students are passing or failing. This is simply a practice that has come into existence because psychologists have decided it ruins a child's self esteem to "fail" and stay back.

The opening quote I used is taken directly from an article on the White House web site. In doing a little reading to make sure I understood the No Child Left Behind legislation, I found this passage and I see the profound irony in it. My failing child was recently on the honor roll. He is fully capable of passing all his classes with little effort. He chooses to put in no effort since he knows he will move on anyway. He scores well enough on the reading and math tests he has been required to take under the No Child Left Behind guidelines, so in the eyes of our government, the school is not "failing" in it's responsibilities.

Personally, I feel the schools have failed miserably in regards to my children and the widespread policy of not holding my children accountable for attaining their "full potential". I have a child in high school now, who has often battled her way through classes and not put in her best effort, but has been moved on anyway. Now that she is within sight of graduating, she is floundering helplessly because she still thinks that she can get by without making her best effort. She has become used to skating along, doing only what she wants and letting the rest fall into place on it's own. Although her school records are full of failing grades as well as A's and B's, she still could graduate on time and she is under the misguided impression that College is still an option.  She is ill-prepared for life outside of school.  My "failing" son is headed in the same direction.

My children may not be reaching their "full potential", but they are statistically showing our government that they are capable of reading and completing mathematical computations as well as proving that holding children less accountable is decreasing the drop out rate. Who cares if that is the extent of their education? It looks good on paper.