More Kool-Aid, Anyone?

Abstract

When President Obama said states could leave No Child Left Behind ... well ... behind, I experienced moment of pure joy. I envisioned fireworks, I saw Lollipop Guild singing, Ding, dong, witch dead. mind's karaoke blasted, We won't get fooled again... But joy lasted less than nanosecond. Sadly, I remembered next line: Meet new boss, same as old As that lyric worked through my consciousness, reality settled in, and I realized this new boss isn't same as old boss. It's worse. With each incarnation of federal government's reform efforts, power of boss has grown punitive, callous, and arbitrary. And, each time we enter new phase, we spiral deeper and deeper into rabbit hole, and rabbit hole only place hallucinations are mistaken for vision, and Kool-Aid vendor runs fastest growing business in kingdom. One of fed's new visions, state waivers from NCLB regulations, powerful example of hallucination dressed up as vision. I have just two very simple Questions: Can someone just once take responsibility for failure--or even just call failure failure--rather than blaming teachers, public schools, parents, and communities? And can we just once look at failure and learn something about where we went wrong? The real failure can be found in Washington, D.C., and in state departments of education that went along with draconian plan. And what we should learn that big, sweeping, punitive reforms simply don't work. Instead, federal government seems to assume that failure requires legislation, tighter controls. Obama claims to be giving states more flexibility by offering opportunity to opt out of NCLB--if they meet a few new guidelines. But what I see an admission that NCLB failed to meet its primary vision--that all students would reach proficiency in reading and math by 2014. Of course, no reasonable person thought it would. But politicians and bureaucrats said it over and over as crowded audiences drank their Kool-Aid and nodded their heads--it sounded just swell coming from podium. Now though, Los Angeles Times has reported that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan strongly supports Obama's decision to let states opt out because the current law drives down standards, weakens accountability, causes narrowing of curriculum, and labels many schools as failing. Yikes. And Obama says, My ad-ministration giving states opportunity to set higher, honest standards. What? Are you saying NCLB standards are not honest? And Diane Ravitch, one of architects of NCLB and now severe critic, reports reform and its emphasis on testing have set back American education by generation. (By way, almost every teacher I know could have told her this back in 2001, but why listen to us?) She also said 2014 goal is timetable for demolition of public education in United States. Good grief, isn't that treason or something? Reading those criticisms from seat of power, why does anyone need to request waiver to discontinue using such failed system? I seriously question whether any state should receive federal money to continue this program. Instead, as taxpayer and citizen, I think any superintendent who continues to implement NCLB ought to be jailed for malpractice. And now education department has had an-other brilliant vision. They are planning a study. …