If you’ve read the articles I’ve posted and tweeted over the summer, then you know about the damage “reforms” are doing and have done to students. I was surprised by the article about how law school students have been affected (infected?) by No Child Left Behind, Law Professors See the Damage Done by ‘No Child Left Behind.’ I guess I didn’t think the damage would already be there and mirror what I see in high school, but it definitely is. After a summer of reading how students, parents, teachers, and even some administrators are fighting against this mess, I’ve made a conscious decision. From here on out I’m using certain catchphrases:

     No Test Left Behind
     Race to Nowhere
     Teaching is not a checklist
     Technology is a tool, not a learning outcome
     Learning is an experience, not a checklist
And my favorite – Standards, not standardization

We have to help these children, in spite of “reforms”; this is one thing I am going to do…

Joseph M. Rathke
Ida Education Association President