Teacher's Opinions about NCLB

Join Teachers.Net

Chatboards

Recent Groups

NCLB

MEMBERS

6 Members

+ Join Group

Pinned Posts

ALLAll Teachers

Teachers.Net LIVE CHAT Support group - Tues eve!

Featured Jobs

Full-timeMontessori Teacher

Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

TemporaryTeachers, rural schools

Peace River North School District

Full-timeHead Teacher: 2nd/3rd Grades – Mills College Children’s School

Mills College

Teaching Jobs on Teachers.Net

Featured Job special only $39!

https://teachers.net/jobs

Become a Teachers.Net sponsor!

NCLB Chatboard

Teacher's Opinions about NCLB

by Cassye

Nov 16, 2012

I am currently in school and studying to become an elementary teacher. In one of my classes I have to do a research project and I picked NCLB as my topic. I was wondering if i could get some opinion from real teachers about NCLB and what they think about it.These are the questions that I am using for my project. Thank you so much for your time and opinions!

-What do you think are some good aspects of No Child Left Behind?

-What do you think are some negative aspects of No Child Left Behind?

-Do you think No Child Left Behind really benefits the students? Why or why not?

-Now that most states have received the No Child Left Behind waiver has there been any changes in curriculum or the school system? If so, what changes?

-What is your opinion about standardized testing? Does preparing for these tests take away a lot of teaching time? Are they actually beneficial

-Do you think No Child Left Behind has closed the achievement gap? ...See More

Comment

(4)

report post

anon_dos On 11/16/12, Cassye wrote:

> - If you were teaching before NCLB was implemented, was the > education system different from the current system? If so, > how?

I was teaching before NCLB. In hindsight, I see NCLB as a preparation for Common Core State Standards. It's a slow infiltration of the government into states' rights...See More

Dec 14, 2013

report post

History Teacher On 12/14/13, anon_dos wrote: > On 11/16/12, Cassye wrote: > >> - If you were teaching before NCLB was implemented, was the >> education system different from the current system? If so, >> how?

Well, the thrust of education was completely different. How to say? There was no accountability. The process was primary - k...See MoreOn 12/14/13, anon_dos wrote: > On 11/16/12, Cassye wrote: > >> - If you were teaching before NCLB was implemented, was the >> education system different from the current system? If so, >> how?

Well, the thrust of education was completely different. How to say? There was no accountability. The process was primary - kids went to school, teachers taught, taxpayers paid - that's the process. What was the outcome? No one knew (I think we still don't know) but the idea that education should have some measurable outcome was a new idea and the idea that NCLB is founded upon. Did our schools work before NCLB? Well, they were up and running - is that working?

Hospitals are going through the same process (and long before Obamacare) It is enough that hospitals exist? Or are they supposed to effect positive outcomes for society? Is it enough that schools exist? Or are they supposed to effect positive outcomes for society?

Believe it or not, that's new thinking. For quite some time, it's been enough that schools and hospitals simply exist. No one asked if they were actually accomplishing anything or not. Kids came and went every day, patients were admitted to hospitals every day - should there be more than that?

People have come to believe there should be more. Hospitals should track their results and those who enter hospitals should leave them well - not have died on the operating table from some horrible mistake or caught some horrible hospital-based pneumonia. While in the hospital the right things should be done - not the wrong things.

The same with schools - while in school children are supposed to be safe and to be learning but - how do we tell if they are learning?

That's the real problem - NCLB mandated that all public schools test student learning every year and if the students' scores on these federally mandated tests were not good, the school was penalized. Some schools have been taken over by the state in my state because their students do very poorly on these NCLB tests (the state take-overs has not resulted in a better school...)

Teaching in this new NCLB regime is very difficult and very scary. Schools lose money if they don't have good outcomes on these tests. It's Very Hard to go from working in an institution that has very little if any accountability and now is being penalized for not meeting established mandated standards.

And the structure of schools and classrooms is often antithetical to achieving good outcomes on these tests. "Teaching to the test" is a phrase born after NCLB. > > > I was teaching before NCLB. In hindsight, I see NCLB as a > preparation for Common Core State Standards. It's a slow > infiltration of the government into states' rights. The > federal government has already high-jacked public education > and they're in the process of doing the same with healthcare.

Dec 17, 2013

report post

teach4 I don't know if it is to late for you...but will answer some of your questions below - otherwise I know the response will be rambling. First I have been an elementary teacher for 37 years. Those years haver all been at a rural community public school in third and fourth grades. I love teaching and children, and really feel that I have had a positiv...See More

Mar 12, 2013

report post

my two Before NCLB schools were accountable to the community and the school board. Teachers were valued and their professional voice was heard. Before NCLB teachers were passionate about their classroom and the relationship they forged with students. That was before the "new idea" of turning schools into factories. Now, teachers are largely burnt out and ...See MoreBefore NCLB schools were accountable to the community and the school board. Teachers were valued and their professional voice was heard. Before NCLB teachers were passionate about their classroom and the relationship they forged with students. That was before the "new idea" of turning schools into factories. Now, teachers are largely burnt out and trying to get out. The teaching job consists of paying lip service to every junky fad that is fed to the conveyor belt so that some consultant can get rich while students fall farther and farther behind. Teachers are forced to take the blame for falling test scores when they are sent into classrooms to do things like set up word walls, anchor charts, and think-pair-share groups--all of which causes test scores to further plummet so someone can replace us with online schools. Teachers are just being used in the grand scheme until the government can force Common Core and mediocrity upon the "equal" masses.

On 12/17/13, History Teacher wrote: > On 12/14/13, anon_dos wrote: >> On 11/16/12, Cassye wrote: >> >>> - If you were teaching before NCLB was implemented, was the >>> education system different from the current system? If so, >>> how? > > Well, the thrust of education was completely different. How to > say? There was no accountability. The process was primary - kids > went to school, teachers taught, taxpayers paid - that's the > process. > What was the outcome? No one knew (I think we still don't know) > but the idea that education should have some measurable outcome > was a new idea and the idea that NCLB is founded upon. Did our > schools work before NCLB? Well, they were up and running - is > that working? > > Hospitals are going through the same process (and long before > Obamacare) It is enough that hospitals exist? Or are they > supposed to effect positive outcomes for society? Is it enough > that schools exist? Or are they supposed to effect positive > outcomes for society? > > Believe it or not, that's new thinking. For quite some time, it's > been enough that schools and hospitals simply exist. No one asked > if they were actually accomplishing anything or not. Kids came > and went every day, patients were admitted to hospitals every > day - should there be more than that? > > People have come to believe there should be more. Hospitals > should track their results and those who enter hospitals should > leave them well - not have died on the operating table from some > horrible mistake or caught some horrible hospital-based > pneumonia. While in the hospital the right things should be done - > not the wrong things. > > The same with schools - while in school children are supposed to > be safe and to be learning but - how do we tell if they are > learning? > > That's the real problem - NCLB mandated that all public schools > test student learning every year and if the students' scores on > these federally mandated tests were not good, the school was > penalized. Some schools have been taken over by the state in my > state because their students do very poorly on these NCLB tests > (the state take-overs has not resulted in a better school...) > > Teaching in this new NCLB regime is very difficult and very > scary. Schools lose money if they don't have good outcomes on > these tests. It's Very Hard to go from working in an institution > that has very little if any accountability and now is being > penalized for not meeting established mandated standards. > > And the structure of schools and classrooms is often antithetical > to achieving good outcomes on these tests. "Teaching to the test" > is a phrase born after NCLB. >> >> >> I was teaching before NCLB. In hindsight, I see NCLB as a >> preparation for Common Core State Standards. It's a slow >> infiltration of the government into states' rights. The >> federal government has already high-jacked public education >> and they're in the process of doing the same with healthcare.

Sep 28, 2014

report post