Britt Robson wrote: 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.
Mark Anderson: I don't think money is the problem. Even if we threw money at the problem, I don't see how Minneapolis could solve the subgroup issue. What is needed is focus on solving the problems. With the subgroup issues, we have to solve too many problems at once to develop the focus we need. Britt Robson continued: 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. Mark Anderson: It is apparent to me that it wouldn't be hard for you to conclude that Bush is the devil himself. This is the sort of trashing the other side that I was referring to. If you don't believe the Right is trying in good faith to fix the schools, then we'll never come to a consensus. The rhetoric has gotten so shrill that sometimes I think that many commentators on the Left want the schools to fail so they can blame it on the Republicans. I don't believe that's the case for most Lefties, but the rhetoric level sure isn't helpful in solving the problems we have. Britt Robson: 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. Mark Anderson: I don't believe throwing money at the schools will solve the problem, without solving the subgroup and perfection in 2014 issues. I do think the accountability of NCLB is a great improvement over previous attempts by the Feds to help by giving money, but not getting anything back. As a Lefty, would you support NCLB if the subgroup and perfection problems were modified to your satisfaction, even if there was no additional money from the Feds? Or is it all about the money? 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
