I will admit it; I am an anxious parent and have been one ever since my son's traumatic birth, subsequent hospitalizations, yadda yadda. But he's made it to the ripe old age of six and he's a smart little cookie. He is wonderfully inquisitive about the world and how it works; he's surprisingly empathetic for a six-year-old; and he's very bright. But then, all of us know just how above-average our children are . . .
What does our modern public education system have to offer a child like this--a child who can already read and do math above grade level, but it capable of doing a lot more? I was chilled to read the following in the New York Times;
SACRAMENTO -- Thousands of schools across the nation are responding to the reading and math testing requirements laid out in No Child Left Behind, President Bush's signature education law, by reducing class time spent on other subjects and, for some low-proficiency students, eliminating it.
Schools from Vermont to California are increasing -- in some cases tripling -- the class time that low-proficiency students spend on reading and math, mainly because the federal law, signed in 2002, requires annual exams only in those subjects and punishes schools that fall short of rising benchmarks.
The changes appear to principally affect schools and students who test below grade level.
The intense focus on the two basic skills is a sea change in American instructional practice, with many schools that once offered rich curriculums now systematically trimming courses like social studies, science and art. A nationwide survey by a nonpartisan group that is to be made public on March 28 indicates that the practice, known as narrowing the curriculum, has become standard procedure in many communities.
What could be more stultifying to a bright child--or to any child--than confinement in a classroom for six hours a day, performing repetitive reading and math drills, rather than using those literacy and numeracy skills to explore interesting topics like history and science? Are these children being prepared to do anything requiring more intellectual breadth than being a retail cashier or (dare I speculate) a soldier?
No Child Left Behind is dragging our entire society down a notch, to the level of the lowest-performing child who might be able to pass an arbitrary test; to the level of the least-caring and least-involved parent; to the level of the least-well-supported school district. Thomas Jefferson, who was the ultimate Renaissance man and one of our first educational reformers, is rotating in his grave.