NCLB: George Will's Take

Education has been an important topic for us lately on the blog. I wanted to put up this column from George Will at the Washington Post. Will offers his insight into why we're falling behind.

NCLB Follow Up

Some of you might have followed the debate that played out here on policythought concerning No Child left behind...if not it started here, then continued here and here. This morning I came across this article on MSNBC concerning some tweaks the President and department of education are planning. As if we are all on the same page NY Times columnist Bob Herbert wrote this column on the state of American High School ed.

Thoughts...you know what to do.

No Child Left Behind, or sent ahead

Maybe its because I'm an Italian-Irish mix, or maybe its because I grew up in a house with three sisters and a mother who loved to argue, but I am not one to let the fantastic, spirited and well-founded debate on NCLB end.

A couple of things on NCLB just to defend specific points that were raised against my original post. I shouldn't have placed NCLB at the feet of the administration it was a bi-partisan compromise bill when it launched into effect. While there has certainly been partisan bickering since it was past, it took a village to raise this bill.

On accountability, I don't take issue with our nation's schools being held accountable for the students they turn out. And a national standard seems appropriate for each grade level. What I take issue with is more fundamental than that. Kids are still learning to memorize facts in the age of Google. We are asking them to read, but not think critically about what they were handed. We need want them to do trigonometry in the age of computer modeling.

School curriculum can be geared around holistic education. It's an idea the Gates Foundation has funded and experimented with in model schools throughout the country. The idea is simple. Little Johnny is learning about statistics and probability in his math class right now. The example used? The National Census, how is it tabulated? How does it work mathematically speaking? How do we created projections from the 2000 census about what the population will look like in 2010? But in his Social Studies class they are also talking about the census they are talking about how lawmakers might use it to create policy, why it is important to the nations understanding of itself. In his English class they are reading synopsis of census conclusions and generating their own reports on what the next census might hold and what policies might be enacted because of it. His science class is taking that census data and relating it to climate change, trying analyze what system could be put in place to mitigate the growing problem. The curriculum is wholistic and synergistic. Then using the tools professionals use in the real world today like laptop computers and powerpoint presentations they present their conclusions to their peers for review.

Another example, Little Jane's science glass is studying the hydrogen fuel cell, it's fundamental mechanics how it works and how makes a car move. In math they are analzying the cost-benefit ration mathematically speaking of what it would cost to drive one, and what that might mean for families up and down the economic scale. Those numbers make their way to social studies where they begin to analyze why changes to our energy economy take so long what it might take to change them. In English Class they are competing to write ad campaigns that will convince specific demographics to start buying hydrogen vehicles based on the benefits they learned about in the other classes.

This kind of multi-disciplinary thinking is critical to the future of the world's problems. Raising a generation that is capable of thinking and working in this way can change the scope of public education is capable of.

I recognize that a pilot school in one district of Philadelphia might make for a great example, but a critic would be right to point out rolling out this kind of program on a national level would be costly, and it wouldn't do anything for the most failing schools. You might be right. But it's not even on the agenda, its embedded nowhere in the DNA of NCLB to actually change the way kids learn or are educated. It sets simple standards and gives incentives to reach them. That's fine, but that is 20th century thinking, we need kids that can get ahead in the 21st century and beyond.

You down with NCLB? Yeah you know me!

I saw a blog on No Child Left Behind and I just couldn't resist throwing my hat into the ring. Being an educator of seven years I have seen the impact that NCLB has had on my school and the delivery of curriculum. In the state of Pennsylvania students all over the state recently participated in the PSSA assessments which measure student proficiency in writing, math, reading, and science. To assess these four content areas, approximately two weeks was set aside to administer the tests.  I must admit that there are many downsides to such assessments and my colleague James is correct in his statement that there are many educators that are adamantly opposed to these tests, but unfortunately educators are going to have to accept the fact that NCLB is here to stay. Whether the legislation is called NCLB or if it takes on another name, accountability and high stakes testing will not go away. As an educator, we spend a great amount of time focusing on meeting state standards and benchmarks, however I must say that this can be a good thing. Why are people so opposed to NCLB tests, however we have no problem with Advanced Placement courses which are tailored entirely for the assessment. Anybody who has taken an AP course will tell you that a great deal of class is spent reviewing and preparing for the exam. Why is this acceptable for the intellectual students, however we hate the fact that students in regular education and special education classes are being held to standards. I agree that creativity and project based learning has suffered somewhat under NCLB, but students are being forced to learn fundamental concepts that are required of any degree bearing institution. Perhaps James makes his best point where he says is education preparing students for the 21st century? I don't think a series of assessments necessarily leads to the heart of the problem. I think the problem stems from our culture whereby education is not valued. NCLB is an easy target for much larger issues. I could spend a great amount of time as an educator complaining about NCLB, or I could man up, accept the system, and rise above.  I have chosen the second option, and I only hope that more of my colleagues follow my example. 

Education That Matters

No Child left behind stands as one of the few domestic achievements of the Bush administration. Achievement is a debatable term to use as it relates to the legislation. Many educators feel the law is a mistake; they feel it serves only to raise standardized test scores and does little to actually improve the state of education on either the macro or micro level.

I have a different issue with No Child Left behind. I don't object to it because of operational issues. I object to it because even if it were to operate exactly as planned and achieve one hundred percent of its stated goal, it will not address the real needs of the 21st century and beyond.

Sustainability will be the paramount issue of the 21st century. Not just environmental friendliness which is critical, but creating sustainable populations and markets, sustainable transportation systems, and sustainable competitive economic opportunities. The essential truth to all sustainability is that it takes complex problem-solving skills. Not simply the ability to read and write, but the ability to digest information from multiple sources and think logically and chronologically about issues. It is not even enough for someone to invent a better hydrogen fuel cell. Teams need to implement a broad distribution system, markets need to be created to value and distribute it. It needs to become part of the ecosystem of our lives. It's not enough to design an environmentally friendly skyscraper. We need architects that can design and rebuild communities with sustenance at the core. We need economists and capitalists who analyze the entirety of the economy to put funding into projects that can change the world.

In short the problems of tomorrow are not simply going to be solved by people that can read, add and subtract. They are going to be solved by people who can think critically, in a multiple-discipline way.

America is losing is competitive advantage in the world by not training its young people to start thinking this way.