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NEWS & LETTERS, DECEMBER 2003The doublespeak of 'Leave no child behind'Chicago--The way in which schools, teachers and children are determined to be "at risk" and "failing" has been called into question by many researchers in the education field. One urban program outpaced its wealthy, suburban counterparts in math and science, but was deemed "failing" because students couldn’t pass their reading English comprehension test. Among the early childhood community which I’m more familiar with, the phrase "Leave No Child Behind" sounds so lovely in the 1984 land of doublespeak, but has come to be known as "Leave No Child Untested." Why? Because all the research for the last two decades, which led to the promising new Early Learning Standards for Illinois, has been truncated into testing and assessment. Not only that, "tests" which were developed for one purpose, such as diagnosis and placement, are now being used incorrectly as final assessments. And when school administrators are questioned about this, their response is that this is all they have. These evaluation tools have no external validity or reliability for the ways in which they are being used. No one can escape, not even three and four year olds, who are now being submitted to developmentally inappropriate standardized testing. The field of literacy development research in young children now spans an entire generation. It consistently shows that reading is the number one predictor of school success. But reading is not learning about the letters and sounds associated with the alphabet as completely unrelated on a formalized standard test. Children learn best about reading, and all other areas of knowledge, when they are taught in ways that are meaningful to them and when they can have a say in making choices about their own learning in creative ways that don’t separate, but integrate all curriculum areas (reading, math, science, art, music). All this wonderful, creative and successful work is being reduced to its most meaningless elements. Every teacher can see this. Every teacher realizes the fallacy of what "passes" for education. Every teacher is dealing with constantly changing policies and new requirements (such as losing your job and closing your school if the school "report card" and tests don’t make it). The speedup is incredible. Add into this mix all the dysfunctional families in chaos and the shattered children that show up in your classroom, and it’s no wonder that Chicago teachers recently said "enough!" by threatening to strike. The alienation of teachers from the boards of education is a given in most school districts because teachers are expected to work miracles by fixing all the world’s problems alone in their classrooms with no support. The story doesn’t change in adult or continuing education either. In March of last year, the suburban community education program I work in which, among other things, teaches ESL and GED classes to adult students, many of them immigrants, suddenly had its budget cut by the state. In a Monday morning memo, teachers were suddenly told there would be no photocopying budget for the remainder of the school year. Since the students and program already could not afford any textbooks, all the materials that were used in the classes were copied. This now meant that for three months, from March to June, that wouldn’t be possible either! If you were a teacher in this situation, tell me how you would cope! The public school "problems" of Chicago do not end at the city borders, as we can see reflected in the teacher strikes in Park Ridge and Niles. What would be very effective is if those suburban teachers received support from those in Chicago, such as help in walking the picket lines and other solidarity. --Erica Rae |
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