DFL guv candidate Matt Entenza wants to pull Minnesota out of the federal No Child Left Behind program. He and running mate Robyne Robinson emphasize this and how much they value education in this new ad, which will begin airing tomorrow. Here is the page from Entenza’s website that gives more details on the policy.
I apologize for not being in a position to do much (any) analysis of the plan just now. Just wanted to put the ad up for those who don’t watch much TV (good for you).
I’m all for abandoning the charade of “No Child Left Behind,” but the ad itself is – as campaign ads are wont to be – vague about the consequences of doing so (Are there any? What might they be?), and equally vague about what, exactly, is going to “…make Minnesota great again.”
I’m all for making Minnesota schools great – my granddaughter will be starting school in a few years – and supporting teachers as professionals – I taught in public schools elsewhere for 30 years – but this is a campaign ad, carefully choreographed, scripted to be uplifting without offending, or offering anything that opponents might use against the candidate.
I’m not persuaded.
I believe that some Federal funding would be forfeited.
Granted that there are many things to learn that are not captured by standardized tests, such tests can evaluate if students have the basic tools to learn anything at all.
Yes, we would lose federal dollars, and Matt is offering no suggestions as to how those dollars might be replaced.
There is a lot that’s wrong with NCLB, but we need the dollars, and we do need a system of accountability. If Matt is opposing those things without making substantive alternative proposals, he isn’t really adding much to the discussion we need to have.
Scrap NCLB and see minority students get screwed all over again. I lived in St. Louis Park, one of the “diversity school districts”. Before NCLB they would never release the scores for minority kids. It was a whole wink, wink, nod, nod of code words like “acheivement gap” etc that basically stated that hey the ones getting the shitty scores are the minorities and don’t worry about your kid.
Raj–
See what happened in Houston to minority scores as a result of NCLB.
My thinking stems from a background as a licensed secondary school teacher for five years, and an instructor in higher education for another twenty five. One of my daughters is a teacher now.
When I started as a teacher, starting salary was $4,000 per year, when an office worker without a degree was earning $6,000. When I acquired a family, I had to go elsewhere to earn a living.
Many years have passed, and — thanks to the unions — teachers can now earn as much as $80,000 including benefits for a nine month year, far in excess of that office worker without a degree. (Starting salaries are at least equal to the office worker’s.) That’s a good thing.
Unfortunately, along with the deserved benefits which have come their way, the unions have also brought “work rules” and “seniority systems” which, while perhaps appropriate for the anonymous workplace of the factory worker, are entirely out of place in the school setting.
Accountability, expected of EVERY employee at their pay levels, is bitterly fought by the unions.
Objective measurement of performance — a standard for most workers — is fought as an unjust attack upon their professionalism, as though every one of us cannot look back on our school experience and recall teachers who should not have been there, due to lack of competence or interest or dedication. Teachers who would not have been there, but for the union.
Teachers who “buck” the system are ostracized and silenced.
Forced contributions to political parties in cash or time sacrifice the teacher’s civil rights to the pursuit of political influence to protect outmoded benefits.
Young, newly trained, enthusiastic teachers leave the system in disillusionment, leaving only those who, with less skill, have no way out.
Our public schools, even those boasting of “E” status, are generally a disgrace. Year after year those who pass the national exams show little or no progress — and teachers’ unions DEFEND this, while we see our competent workforce left without competent successors.
Parents who demand “A” grades for their perfect offspring regardless of performance don’t help.
Disfunctional families don’t help.
Poverty and language difficulties don’t help.
But these things are not new, and do not excuse lack of performance by teachers.
And outside, objective evaluation of teachers’ performance is an absolute necessity, and in my opinion — while it does not solve the education problems we face — it would be nothing short of criminal obeisance to the blind unions to get rid of it.
@Paul Brandon:
How about providing a link or two?
@Paul Brandon
See what happened in St. Louis Park and other school districts before NCLB. They would not release minority scores and cover it up.
At least now we know which school districts are failing by reading the raw numbers and not some baloney code words like “achievement gap” and the usual averaging of scores to cover them up.
“Instead of teaching to a test…”
Not to be too flip, but just about every class I ever took, K-Grad, ended with a test. I’m amazed that this blindingly stupid phrase has made it into our lexicon on education.