Wednesday, March 19, 2008

McCaskill: Without major changes, No Child Left Behind will not be reauthorized


Withour major changes, the federal No Child Left Behind act will not be reauthorized, Sen. Claire McCaskill said during a forum at Southeast Missouri State University Tuesday:

McCaskill segued into a discussion about the No Child Left Behind Act, criticizing the act for not taking student progress into account, setting arbitrary standards, and causing teachers to feel they have to teach to the test.

"Unless there are major changes, it will not be reauthorized," she said.

Brenda Woemmel, a retired Cape Girardeau School District teacher, said social studies is being "pushed out" as districts focus their attention on tested core subjects.

"If students don't know the history of the country, they won't be able to put things in perspective," Woemmel said.

McCaskill agreed, saying, "I'm worried we're not doing enough world history." She also said she is worried about teachers who are "asked to do so much more than teach." In some areas, she said, teachers are expected to be a child's nutritionist, clothe them, teach them values, be a disciplinarian, and "somewhere down the line" teach math and reading.

1 comment:

Aimee said...

That's good news...holding the federal government responsible for a policy placed on the state schools.

I'll believe it when it happens.