President Obama's Race to the Top education initiative has not exactly been an improvement over his predecessor's No Child Left Behind; and despite the fact that the President has been supported by teachers and their organizations, he has seldom had our backs. So I was pleased to note a couple of positives in the President's State of the Union address, though I don't know if the President or Arne Duncan would necessarily agree with my viewpoint.
The President was critical of the over-emphasis on standardized testing, suggesting that we need "new ways to measure how well our kids think, not how well they can fill in a bubble on a test." I am grateful that the President may finally be coming around on this issue. On the other hand, his Race to the Top program has an over-emphasis on standardized testing, and until that changes, his rhetoric is ... only rhetoric.
The best news, however, was that the President proposed no new major educational initiatives. I can't speak for all educators, but I am relieved. Given the negative impact of the educational initiatives of the Bush and Obama administrations, I am elated that there will be no new "reforms" coming from Washington. For this year at least there will be no new programs based on invalid or outdated research; no new mandates requiring hours of mind-numbing paperwork; and best of all, no bashing of public education to justify new ill-conceived policies.
Thank you, Mr. President.