It is hard to find any outcomes for Utah's lawsuit regarding No Child Left Behind (NCLB). This leads me to believe it is not resolved, though it was filed in 2005. Eight other states and the National Education Association joined in the lawsuit. One thing is for certain: states can deny NCLB funding and try to go it alone, but I can't imagine any state financially independent enough to do so.
Technology and Curriculum:
1. We ban iPods, cellphones and handheld devices from classes so that students will not cheat by interacting with others and quickly find resources to get correct answers.
Aren't we in the business of teaching students to prepare for the future workforce? The last time I checked, the workforce was looking for people who can interact with others and quickly find resources to get correct answers.
Maybe it isn't the students. Maybe it is the way we test.
2. How do impoverished students access computers at home?
Read about the One Laptop Per Child Project. Originally meant for third world nations, it is expanding to the home front.
3. How can we afford to have laptop computers with on-line textbooks for every child?
Find the cost of texts and materials for each subject that your students take. Add the costs up and look at your sum.
You might find yourself asking how can we afford not to?
A Framework for Understanding Poverty
OK, author of this book, Ruby Payne, is not embraced by everyone. The glass is also half full. Ruby Payne is a starting place for us to look at a glaring problem...the haves continue to succeed as the have-nots continue to fail. Part of the reason for this is a disconnect between the teacher and the impoverished student. The achievement gap is closing, however, though ever-so-slightly. Our next job is to find where to go beyond Payne's text. Classroom Instruction That Works (Robert Marzano et. al.) is a must read. The book's insights on effort (v. ability) cut across race and wealth with 30+ years of research-supported evidence.
Global Competition
Don't not let the alarmists fool you. Yes, we have a huge technology revolution going on and yes we can lose our position of dominance in world power...someday. The turn over of economic power should prove to be a long, slow process that perhaps we and/or our children will never live to see. China and India truly have more honor students than we have students...because of the huge populations in both countries, they also have an enormous share of very horrific schools with millions of children who live in substandard conditions. China is trying to develop what we are eager to throw away: individual talents, divergent thinking, deviation, creativity, and a system without government dictation (Catching Up Or Leading The Way, by Yong Zhao page vi.). As for the better use of natural resources by other countries, I suggest an investigation into China's lack of pollution restraints and a good whiff of their cities' air quality.
Dropouts
Nowhere will you find statistics telling you that students drop out because the work is too rigorous. Allowing dropouts will increase test scores...maybe. Look again...are the lowest achieving students really the ones who are dropping out? Test scores are not the real issue...the American society remains healthy only when a great deal of people are contributing to social services and fewer need to take from them.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
All Topics As A Whole
Identifying problems is the easy part. The contribution of optimistic, future educational leaders will be finding and providing solutions. Let your network begin here in this course.
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