While watching the TV, late tonight, I was watching CNN and Lou Dobbs Tonight was on. They began a segment about the state of American Schools and how they are "Failing an entire generation of American kids". Of course, my ears perked up. I ran over to CNN.com and grabbed the trascript for you guys to read, if you wish to. It is nothing new, but it is the most current and latest report of how American schools are failing the students. (If you were looking for this type of reference in your research or debates....) This is the transcript itself... followed at the end by the link to the actual CNN.com page where you can site it for yourself, if you need to reference it... I always like to have receint news reports to refer to, when discussing educational freedom of choice and so on with various people. :twisted: Transcript: DOBBS: Congress today began hearings on the future of the No Child Left Behind Act, a program supposed to solve this country's education crisis. And now it's up for renewal. But after five years after it went into effect, that measure is receiving failing grades from politicians and education experts alike. Lisa Sylvester has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Five years into the No Child Left Behind program, U.S. students are still lagging well behind their counterparts in other countries and leaving school unprepared. But Education Secretary Margaret Spellings touted the program saying it's working. MARGARET SPELLINGS, EDUCATION SECRETARY: My recent department national education report card shows strong gains in the early grades where we focused our efforts. More progress, in fact, with our young readers in the last five years than the previous 28 combined. SYLVESTER: Under No Child Left Behind, all students in the United States are supposed to be testing at grade level in reading and math by the year 2014. The program is supposed to be the answer to the nation's education problems, but lawmakers say it is not working because of a lack of funding. SEN. TOM HARKIN (D), IOWA: If we're going to put higher demands on schools, shouldn't we help give them the resources to do the job? SYLVESTER: Other critics say it's unrealistic to expect that 100 percent of students will be academically proficient by the deadline, but a former education secretary does not believe the targets should be abandoned. SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), TENNESSEE: This is not a country where we say 85 percent of men are created equal, or we say we're only going to leave 15 percent of the children left behind. We set big goals. We hope and try for every child to achieve. SYLVESTER: As No Child Left Behind comes up for renewal, the political lines are being drawn. Some who say it should be tweaked, others say it should be scrapped. JACK JENNINGS, CENTER ON EDUCATION POLICY: And the president is going to have to deal with the conservatives who want to walk away from federal involvement in education, and the Democrats are going to have to deal with some liberals who don't want accountability in education. SYLVESTER: Many lawmakers also took issue with some of the funding cuts in the Bush administration's education budget. Forty- four programs are actually losing funding. (END VIDEOTAPE) SYLVESTER: Studies suggest the nation's students are sliding, not gaining, academically. A new report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that high school seniors in 2005 scored significantly lower in reading than seniors who graduated in 1992 -- Lou. DOBBS: Public education, the great equalizer in this society of ours. It is simply failing an entire generation of Americans. And we have nothing less than a crisis for this Congress, this president to deal with. Hopefully they will deal with it. Lisa, thank you very much. Lisa Sylvester reporting from Washington. END TRANSRIPT Found here: (About 2/3 rds down the page) http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0703/14/ldt.01.html
That makes me want to get Deena's suggestion for a bumpersticker. "In homeschooling, no child is left behind" Thanks for the post.
That's very interesting! Supposedly no child left behind, but then they cut the education budget! Uhhhh, yeah, that makes sense....NOT! Thanks for sharing Jen! I appreciate you sending up these things!
Sadly, getting the kids to test, and test well seems to be the primary goal of many districts. In kindergarten, both my kids started taking timed math and reading tests. In Kindergarten! Schools (I can speak for this district) are foregoing practically ALL other forms of study and subjects (Science, Social Studies/ History, PE, Art, Music) in order to teach kids to test. When I pulled the kids out of PS, My kids had no idea why 9-5= 4, they were taught a dot system (where each number had a dot equating that number imposed into itself) in kindergarten to help them count up or down to get the answer more quickly. Oh, they had the correct answer, but they had no idea why that was the correct answer. I would like one of those bumper stickers. Another one I would like says: "Schools are for Fish"
That cracks me up. How is EVERY child supposed to be at grade level? Have they heard of a curve? When I was teaching our 5th graders had to take a test on each subject area, so I had to focus on everything. The lower grades were told to just do math and reading and try to work the other stuff into the reading. While I see the point, the kids needed a break, and we just had to catch them up on the other stuff when they hit 5th grade. And guess what? There were still kids not at grade level because that's called the real world...I wish everyone lived there.
I have never heard of this. Do you mean to say that when they were given a math problem, there were three dots next to a number 3 and four dots next to a number 4 and so on?
They taught the kids that there are dots located in certain areas of each number that equal that number I don't know if this will work as an example, but lets try the number 5 O****O * * * O** --- ** ---- ** ----- *O ----** ---** O* So in 9-5. They would say 9, and count each dot beginning at the upper right down to the the bottom (8, 7, 6... to get the ansewr of 4). So, in Kindergarten they memorize the placement of the dots, and as they get older they add or subtract by pointing at those now invisible dot locations. Did that make more sense? When I was visiting them in Kindergarten, I saw the numbers with the dots superimposed onto them, but never understood why until I started homeschooling. Both the kids were doing double and triple digit addition or subtraction (without regrouping) at almost a 100% ON PAPER. They could not do this without paper and they did not understand the reason why these answers were those answers.
That is the weirdest thing I have ever seen. Those school districts will buy ANY new curriculum, won't they? Hahahaha! Holy Cow! My 4 year old can add or subtract ANY number, because she knows that each number represents an AMOUNT of some "Things" being added or taken away from an amount of some "Things". She does 1st grade math workbooks. She would be handicapped and confused if taught the way that school did. Holy cow! No wonder they are cheating in college, eh?
My cousin is autistic and when she was in highschool, about 15 years ago, they were teaching her that in her special ed classes. That is crazy!
