Stopping the Insanity of No Child Left Behind!!!

Dear Commons Community,

The Huffington Post is reporting that President Barack Obama plans to grant waivers to ten states from the harsh testing requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law.  This is the first major reversal of NCLB which  established the  passing of standardized testing the mantra for K-12 education.  The article states:

“President Barack Obama on Thursday will free 10 states from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, giving leeway to states that promise to improve how they prepare and evaluate students, The Associated Press has learned.

The first 10 states to receive the waivers are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The only state that applied for the flexibility and did not get it, New Mexico, is working with the administration to get approval, a White House official told the AP.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the states had not yet been announced. A total of 28 other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have signaled that they, too, plan to seek waivers – a sign of just how vast the law’s burdens have become as a big deadline nears.

Obama plans to speak about the waivers Thursday afternoon at the White House.

No Child Left Behind requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014. Obama’s action strips away that fundamental requirement for those approved for flexibility, provided they offer a viable plan instead. Under the deal, the states must show they will prepare children for college and careers, set new targets for improving achievement among all students, develop meaningful teacher and principal evaluation systems, reward the best performing schools and focus help on the ones doing the worst.”

Thank you, President Obama for stopping the insanity of NCLB!!!

Tony

 

Should Home Schooled Children Be Allowed to Play Varsity Sports?

Dear Commons Community,

An article in the New York Times raises the question whether home schooled children should be allowed to play varsity sports.   Presently twenty-five states allow home-schooled students to play sports at public schools with varying restrictions, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association. Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia are expected to consider similar legislation this year.  The view of one Virginian home-schooled soccer player, Patrick Foss, who would like to play on his local high school varsity team but under present statutes cannot is:

“My parents pay the same exact taxes as my next-door neighbor who plays varsity sports,” he said. “I just want to be part of the community. You shouldn’t have to pick between athletics and academics.”

Opponents argue that playing varsity sports is a privilege surrendered when students opt out of the public school system; that home-schoolers might take roster spots from public school students; and that it would be extremely difficult to apply the same academic, attendance and discipline requirements to home-schooled students as to those who are monitored daily in public schools. To maintain varsity eligibility, for instance, Virginia’s public school students must take five courses in the current semester and must have passed five in the previous semester. Home-schooled students do not have to adhere to that standard.”

The article also attributes the interest in this issue to Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos quarterback who was home-schooled but played football at a public high school in suburban Jacksonville, Fla., before winning a Heisman Trophy and two national championships at the University of Florida.

“People joke, but I think you can attribute a lot of this to the Tim Tebow story,” said Matthew Gillespie, assistant executive director of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. “Everybody thinks they have a Tim Tebow in the backyard waiting to be found. Who’s to say?”

Who’s is to say is right!

Tony