Education Reform

Trying to provide the best education for our children has been a mission of this country for at least 50 years maybe longer.  Before President Johnson funding for schooling was a local issue.  But with the Great Society legislation signed into law by Johnson federal funding for education had begun.  Since then there have been many changes to the federal education laws including the most recent NCLB or "No Child Left Behind" act.  The whole issue in a nut shell is that the public wants to be able to see there money working and politicians decide to use standardized test to be able to show student and teacher performance.  The problem with this system is that is waters down the content of the subjects because the teacher now have to teach students how to pass a multiple choice test rather than some broad concept that will serve them much better in college and thereafter.  Another problem is that this approach rewards some students and punishes others unjustly.  Some students are very good test takers that do not really know the content while others have mastered the content but are unable to show it in a multiple choice format.  I understand the need to be able to show performance in schools but this format is unfair and unjust.  In my opinion we need to have end of year tests but the teacher should be in charge of how much the test counts towards the final grade.  The EOG could really be used for students to show their mastery in the subject even though they may not have done as well through out the year.  Now to make sure students maintain an acceptable level of work ethic this test could only help them if they could show that they did their work during the school year by turning in a portfolio.  And in determining teacher performance I believe that should be  handled by the administration as well as their attendance in workshops that focus on improving education through many different aspects to ensure the students are getting the most benefit from the teaching.  In terms of funding I believe that we should make sure that every school has the technological tools of the 21st century and that students are in smaller classrooms and feel safe.  This I know would be a big investment but it is a worthwhile investment that will not only save us money but make it as well.  this will save us money because fewer students will drop out and/or commit crimes and end up in the prison systems as well as welfare.  This will make money because with better education comes better jobs because of innovations and new technologies by our bright educated citizenry.