No Child Left Behind–they All Fail Together
by Recent educational rhetoric like "No Child Left Behind" and Differentiated Instruction" are not the "Holy Grail" of education as those in charge like to profess. Many real-world educators have not jumped on the bandwagon because these ideas and strategies are as imperfect as the people who created them.
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Rhetoric which proclaims the entitlement of everyone to possess life’s riches equally surreptitiously suggests that everyone is entitled. The truth is that no one is entitled. Sure, the idea of everyone working together for a common good and common benefit sounds logical. However, so does the idea of Communism or Socialism where all people work together for the support and benefit of each other. The problem is that the utopian world can never exist because imperfect people cannot make something perfect. The animals in George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm discover this truth as they tirelessly struggle to create a harmonious society, which benefits all equally even the slackers such as the cats and the pigs. In the end, the pigs outsmart the other animals into doing all the work and receiving little of the promised wealth. All that really happens is that the middle class animals work tirelessly for an unattainable ideal at the cost of their happiness and ultimately their lives. Parallel evidence is blindingly apparent in America’s public education system, as well.
Several years ago the slogan “No Child Left Behind” became the winning campaign slogan of politicians across the nation. The fallacious either or reasoning here suggests that if a person does not support all of the rhetoric and ideas which fall out underneath the banner of this slogan, then he is against children, or it suggests that all who do wave the “No Child Left Behind” banner altruistically support children. Preposterous isn’t it? Are all who wave a Bible pure of heart? Are all who pledge allegiance to the American flag, patriots? Then, by using inductive reasoning, doesn’t logic prove that all who quote “No Child Left Behind” are not necessarily huge education advocates.
Several years ago as part of the trickle down effect of “No Child Left Behind”, various euphemisms and glittering generalities began encroaching upon the educational rhetoric such as “Differentiated Instruction” and “Tiered Lesson plans and Assessments”. What do these terms mean? Where did they come from? Such questions raced through the minds of probably every single educator, but just as the doubters of Napoleon’s orders in the novel Animal Farm are quieted by snarling guard dogs, so are educators. Neither dissension nor any questioning of the reigning theory is allowed.. On paper the idea of “Differentiated Instruction” sounds good: Premise–Students are of varying abilities and learning styles. Premise–Varied students populate each classroom. Ergo, Teachers should present two to four different variations of the same lesson with two – four types of assessments (test) to teach each variation of learning style and ability present in one classroom. Not only is this syllogism invalid, but also so is the theory behind it.
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