Solving the crisis in education is completely possible, and we can't afford to ignore the state of our schools any longer.

This is a book review of Kate Menken's English Learners Left Behind, which details the difficulties faced by "English language learners" under the testing regime faced by NCLB, with special emphasis upon problems the author observed and researched in New York State.

(crossposted at Docudharma)

The right-wing blogosphere, an eerie place closely akin to Bizarro World in old Superman comics, serves at least one legitimate purpose.  They are outraged by things that I usually approve of.  If not for their outrage, then sometimes I might not have found out about those things.  I discovered that fact accidentally.  Thinking that I was adding a normal news site to my reader, I followed a link right into some of the most hateful writing I've seen in a long time.  I immediately turned on ABP to prevent them from getting any income from my visit while I toured their putrid fantasy land.  They have trashed some great things there that haven't been written about at all here (according to the search engine), things like Senator Obama's Zero to Five Plan.

I refuse to name the author of the piece that led me to the education page at Barack Obama's website, because he doesn't deserve a mention.  In the past I wrote a hateful diary, but in my case I deleted it.  I am certain this man loves his own opinion far too much to do something repentant like that.  I feel obligated to defend Barack Obama's entire education plan, including the "Zero to Five Plan."

More than a half century of research has documented a powerful association between social and economic disadvantage and low student achievement. Weakening that association is the fundamental challenge facing America's education policymakers.

Too often we attempt to address educational policy in isolation, ignoring the well-document relationship between school performance and socioeconomic status, a relationship that leads to significant gaps even before students start school.  And we can note

Despite impressive academic gains registered by some schools serving disadvantaged students, there is no evidence that school improvement strategies by themselves can substantially, consistently, and sustainably close these gaps.

The quotes are from the home page of a new initiative, entitled as is this diary, A Broader, BOLDER Approach to Education.  Please keep reading as I tell you a bit about this initiative.

Some talk has surfaced lately about the NCLB. Barack has mentioned it in speeches saying that the No Child Left behind law left the money behind. I wanted to point out that there are other provisions of the law that also need scrutiny and review.

No Child Left Behind, Subpart 2, Section 9528 requires that school districts release the names, addresses and telephone numbers of juniors and seniors to military recruiters upon request unless an opt-out form is signed by the student's parents and returned.

Daily Kos Friends:  This diary is from my personal experience as a certified public school teacher. It will be one example of what is wrong with No Child Left Behind.

As the Federal government has delayed reauthorization of the basic law affecting public schools, the Elementary And Secondary Education Act, the most recent version of which is (unfortunately and inaccurately) as No Child Left Behind, perhaps now might be a good time to explore alternative approaches to public education. Since public education is primarily the responsibility of the states, and since the Federal government provides less than 8% of the cost of public education, perhaps rather than Federally imposed mandates we can explore what states have done to address some of the needs of public education.  And if we are willing to go down that path (as I certainly am), perhaps the first state at which we would look would be Minnesota.  

Had I any doubts of the wisdom of such an examination, they would have been removed after reading a May 4 column in the Providence Journal by Julia Steiny entitled Columnist Julia Steiny looks at Minnesota’s plan to save money and improve schools.  Let me begin by discussing what in that column caught my attention.

There was always something slightly insane about No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the ambitious education law often described as the Bush Administration's signature domestic achievement.

   That is the opening sentence of a piece in the current issue of Time.   Written by Claudia Wallis, the piece is entitled as it this diary, and it is very much worth your going to this link and taking the time to read it.  It is especially interesting as we now have on record a key insider in the Bush Department of Education acknowledging the arguments of critics that for some in the Department

No Child Left Behind was nothing more than a cynical plan to destroy American faith in public education and open the way to vouchers and school choice.

It is a piece that has been widely discussed on some of the educational lists in which I participate, and I thought it might be worthwhile for me to examine it and  offer some commentary here.  

This is a song from Hip Hop artist and Movie star, Ice Cube. Some of the images may be shocking but I think that's his point. Especially in light of a culture who blames everyone else but themseleves.

I know that No Child Left Behind is not a hot topic right now, but I must share with you this wonderful snark that appeared in our Indiana State Teachers Association UniServ District 2F May 8 Newsletter (PDF).

It demonstrates the absurdity of a one-size-fits-all education policy inflicted on schools from the top down.

Snark below the fold.

"We do not provide equal access to a high-quality education to every child in this nation. And even though we have made strides in this direction, we have miles to go before this task is complete. There is a pressing need to redesign our schools to meet the demands of a global 21st century society in which knowledge and technology are changing at a breath-taking pace, and new forms of education are essential for individual and societal survival. Yet, our current policy strategies are constraining rather than enabling the educational innovation our school system needs. Indeed, the path we are pursuing promises to leave our schools, as well as our children, behind."

That is a quotation from a new report entitled "Democracy at Risk: The Need for a New Federal Policy in Education"  that was released yesterday by the Forum for Education and Democracy on the 25th anniversary of "A Nation at Risk," the federal report on education which initiated much of what is wrong in our educational policy.

Please keep reading.

Our students are bent over their desks, furiously bubbling in their answer sheets. The school year up to this point has been largely devoted to preparing them for this, the ultimate test of their worth -- but more significantly -- the worth of the public school they attend.

In response to the intense pressures of No Child Left Behind, which results in schools being closed if they fail to meet proficiency targets, some schools are going to extreme lengths to increase the numbers on their scores. But are we measuring what really counts?

"We need someone in Congress who puts education, educators, and children first. We need someone who will stand up for those voiceless interests rather than appealing to a blind allegiance to the White House’s misguided priorities in educational policy. Who better to stand up for education than a lifelong educator like Roy Carter?"
---Tripp Jeffers, President of the Forsyth County Association of Educators and member of the North Carolina Association of Educators Governmental Relations Commission

**Cross posted on BlueNC.com and at http://www.roycarterforcongress.com

A new community, known as The Sanctuary, has been formed to discuss immigration issues. Communities like this will be very important in an Obama administration as we work together to reform our nation's immigration laws so that the 12 million immigrants can come out of the shadows and participate in our society. The Sanctuary is formed by Daily Kos' own Duke1676.

First and foremost, The Sanctuary is a community founded on the basic premise that human rights and dignity are the cornerstones of civilized society.

With that in mind, The Sanctuary is unequivocally a "pro-migrant space" which respects the intrinsic value of all members of society regardless of their circumstances or legal status.

We believe that immigration is a vital part of maintaining a healthy and vibrant America, and has set this nation apart from all others since its inception. It is the lifeblood that has always made this nation grow and prosper, and our mission is to work towards reform of our current immigration system to better reflect these liberal progressive ideals ... To be practical, fair, rational and humane.

As we close in on PA, what we have to do is keep making our message as relevant as possible to as many people as possible. The problem with politics at the national level is that people frequently do not see it as relevant to their daily lives. But if we can break that barrier and make it relevant, that will turn into a lot more turnout and a lot more votes.

With that in mind, I will start including commentary on Oprah in every OENR. Her endorsement of Obama gives us a unique opportunity to take our progressive political message and relate it to peoples' lives. People who might never phone bank, might never contribute to a political campaign, or who might never have an account at Daily Kos or write a blog might still watch Oprah. Her show gives us a bridge to reach out to people who might not otherwise connect with our campaign.

    Once President Barack Obama brings the troops back from a then-safe-for-Democracy Iraq after using his sound technique of deadlines and positive reinforcement (and negative consequences), he can put a "surge" to good use. Instead of killing people, why not use a surge to educate them?

According to an article in today's New York Times, No Child Left Behind is feeding an epidemic of high school dropouts.  Further, NCLB forces states to use deceptive strategies to hide the dropout rates so that schools don't lose federal funding.

At Murrah High School, one of eight here, the official graduation rate is 99 percent, even though yearbooks show that half of Murrah’s freshmen disappear before becoming seniors. Even Murrah’s principal, Roy Brookshire, expressed surprise.

"I can’t explain how they figured that, truly I can’t," Mr. Brookshire said.

Virginia may opt out of Every No Child Left Behind as soon as June 30, 2009.  That is, assuming the federal law still exist (in it's current state or not).   Legislation cleared the G.A. yesterday that would direct the VA Board of Education to direct whether the Commonwealth should pull out of the federal school education accountability system.