The "Left" has tried to work with the "Right" on NCLB: It passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support, not least because the lefty whom conservatives most love to bash, Ted Kennedy, threw his weight behind it. But Bush and his conservative colleagues revealed their true agenda by reneging on promised funding, shortchanging the program by a whopping $13 billion over the past three years. Add in the constant underfunding of special education services mandated by the feds and you have a situation where schools--"bad" and "good"--can now be torn asunder if they don't meet unrealistic federal standards, all without being provided the level of funding its bipartisan supporters deemed adequate to do the job. Given the "Right"'s private-school, voucher-oriented agenda, it is hard not to conclude that discrediting public education and disrupting the system are the real goals of NCLB. If NCLB was fully funded, and some of the more draconian aspects (such as the emphasis on the percentage taking the test, the russian roulette of failing the entire school if just one subgroup fails--either by inadequate attendance or performance--and the absurd "goal" of absolute perfection of passing test scores) were modified in favor of the sort of emphasis Mr. Anderson posits, I'm sure the "Left" would renew its endorsement. It's the "Right," hell-bent on their tax cuts at the expense of promised funding, and their search for ways to bash the teachers unions (traditionally staunch supporters of democratic candidates), who are and will remain most resistant to Anderson's prescription. Local angle: Pawlenty is doing at the state level what Bush is doing nationally, underfunding schools while proposing glitzy, union-busting "reforms" such as $100,000 salaries for "superteachers" and legislation that would allow bureaucrats in St. Paul to wrest control of failing schools from the local school boards, the latter a proposal that goes beyond what NCLB mandates. Due to the demographics and levels of poverty among its student population, Minneapolis, of course, would feel (and is feeling) the brunt of Pawlenty's policies--which already include unprecedented cuts in special ed, compensatory aid, english language learners programs and after school programs--more immediately and keenly than any of the other state districts. And that's not a coincidence.
Britt Robson Lyndale ----- Original Message ----- From: "Anderson & Turpin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 12:35 PM Subject: RE: [Mpls] NCLB is anti-civil rights wine in civil rights wineskins > David Brauer wrote: > Mark, go to the state Education Department site and tell me finding > detailed school info doesn't have to be dug for. I needed the > department spokesman to guide me through it. The information is rich > (within the limited universe of a single standardized test), but it is > NOT user-freindly yet. > > Mark Anderson: > The Strib has a list of schools with their various "failings" a few weeks > ago. That's the kind of information I want to see. If the Strib can come > up with a state-wide list, I presume it isn't that hard to get. > > David Brauer wrote: > I'd suggest reading the legislative auditor's report on NCLB and you'll > have a lot more reason to think NCLB spending will also be money > wasted. The legislative auditor's report notes that ALL state schools > will fail steadily stiffening NCLB targets eventually. This will > directly affect Mpls schools because we will get the wave first and > have the least political power. The schools may be hard-pressed, but > surely they don't have to all be reconstituted, "even" in Mpls. > > The auditor's report can be found at > http://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/Ped/2004/pe0404.htm. It's an > education. > > Mark Anderson: > Okay, David, I read the summary of the legislative auditor, as well as the > polemic that Britt Robson referred to in his e-mail. It sounds like they > both agree with what I said. It's the draconian subgroup issues that have > caused the problems, as well as the vision of reaching perfection by 2014. > As I suggested previously, maybe we should push the subgroup issues to a > second stage, and instead focus our energies on fixing the rotten schools > first. > > The NCLB was a clumsy attempt to solve the decades-long problem of failing > students with a single draconian program. I think the principle is correct; > we just need to fix the details. If the Left works with the Right to fix > the program, instead of just using it to trash each other, we could use it > to improve our schools. As I said before, it's the Left who has the greater > concern of closing the "gap" (versus simply increasing academic achievement > of those "left behind"). If we could get consensus among the Left that > closing the "gap" should be the second step in the NCLB program, instead of > the immediate focus on that problem, I would think the Right would agree. > Both sides do want to improve the results of the schools. Why can't we use > the NCLB to get there? > > Mark V Anderson > Bancroft > > > REMINDERS: > 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
