I've never been one to get into politics, and I really am pretty oblivious to everything going on in the world, but seeing news like this really hits home for me. For any of you who may be reading this blog and care about education, this is likely to pick a lot of people's brains. My classmates and I gripe and complain all the time about the practical effects that NCLB have had on classroom instruction & atmosphere... but what happens when that accountability is suddenly slipped out from underneath us and we quickly get what we want? I'm afraid that too little structure could be detrimental for all of us.
As a future teacher, I want my students to enjoy learning in a way that does not stress them out and make them fear "The Test," but I know that many teachers are out there in the classroom because they need a job and they like being in control. I mean really- it's easy to fall into that when you have 20-something little minions staring at you and obeying your every command. And learning becomes a burdensome, secondhand task. So maybe some kind of accountability is needed, but not the kind that stresses out even the teacher with the best intentions. And maybe we should start taking the politics out of the matter so that we can really think about the effects it has on education. But who am I to talk- I really don't know much about politics and how they work? I'm just a little ol college student, with 1 million dreams/plans about how I'd love to run a classroom and love on my students, but those are all really just theories right now. I'm living my future through what I read in a textbook. For now, I'll keep reading up on all this educational politics stuff and hope that it'll benefit me later!
On another note, I was surprised to find out that KY was the first to appeal to the President for a waiver on testing & accountability. Represent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/09/no-child-left-behind-waivers_n_1264872.html?view=print&comm_ref=false
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