Every Child Left Behind? Part 3

To conclude our analysis of the No Child Left Behind program, we'll take a look at how the program is fundamentally flawed, even if it were properly funded. But first, we'll look at how the education system works here in the US of A. Traditionally, education funding starts at the state not the Federal level, and monies collected from city ordinances are used to build new schools, and make sure they're running par excellence. (This is, of course, the system in a nut shell) The Federal Government, traditionally, has little involvement with the education system.

So why is the Federal Government getting involved now?

As we discussed earlier, our schools are in pretty bad shape as a nation. And this is where NCLB comes in, brought to you by Rod Paige, the same man whom masterminded the Huston Miracle! As you can see, we're already off to such a wonderful start. We've already discussed the "plan" from the Federal Government, but here it is, again in a nut shell - Standardized National testing (the multiple choice type); those schools who perform the best get the most moo-la from the Federal Government.

Good! Doesn't that just hold the districts accountable?

Before we get to "who's accountable", first we need to see if this test thing is really the best means to achieve this. First, for most white collar jobs, the most important job skill you can have is the ability to communicate, either orally or written, your ideas succinctly and clearly. Remember all of those book reports and ten page essays-with-oral-presentations you had to do in high school? You can thank your teachers later. Remember our earlier statistic- that 60%-70% of high school graduates cannot think or read critically? NCLB does nothing to improve communication skills. The only thing a standardized test can determine is how well you can regurgitate factual information. (I do understand the importance of association, however) Our next generation will be released into the toughest job market the US has ever seen- not just competing with their neighbor for a good paying job, but the whole world, without proper communication skills.

So what can we do?

First we have to get to the root of the problem. I understand that there are some really bad teachers out there; however, how can a teacher teach a class when the students just wont behave? And if the teacher should try to take corrective action towards the unruly brat- Law suite! It looks like the root lies with the parents and trickles upwards into the hollowed halls of institutions of education. In my AFA post, I outlined some things parents can do to teach their children healthy study habits, but do the parents really have the time? Gone are the days when one parent can afford to stay home with the rug-rats and engaged in active parenting. We've exported a high majority of our higher paying manufacturing jobs over-seas, and there is so much competition for the jobs that are left, that it is causing heavy deflationary pressures on wadges. The job that payed $20.00 an hour twenty years ago now only pays $10.00 (salary adjusted in today's dollars). GDP (how much we produced inside the US) was at 1.3% for 2005, down from its average of 3.5% annual gain, (GDP hasn't been this low since depression times) while CPI (inflation) rose 3.4% in 2005. http://www.bls.gov/

What the heck does that mean?

That means the average price of goods has risen more than what we made (GDP is in $'s) domestically last year. Combine that with a high influx of illegal immigrants pushing wadges down, and it puts an ever increasing strain on the median family income. Parents to day, to survive, have to work more hours to generate the same amount of income they did a generation ago.

So with the parents unable to parent, who can we hold accountable? For now, I will only suggest that we need to reconsider our current structure of "corporate anarchy". Isn't it time we start pulling in the reigns, and incenting business to stay here in the united states?

Cody Hobbs