Wait, ... am I reading that right? Surely our president didn't blow it again. Failure seems to be his middle name. Yes, ... we all know that he claimed to be an education president, even though he cannot use grammar but gets A's for his foul mouthed rhetoric. But, it is true, our president can pat himself on the back and say, "Well done!," because public schools are WORSE off now, than before he backed himself into the presidency.
What was Bush's educational agenda? Nothing more than "Standardized Tests," the very worst way to ascertain a child's educational gifts. When I think about it, I am lucky to have an empty stomach, because I feel like regurgitating! And now, in Oklahoma, with the "Educational Lottery," and over a hundred Casinos, which promised education moneys, our government is staring at a short-fall in every direction. It's back to the "buy your students" pencils, erasures, and paper products by our teachers
In complying with NCLB standards, small, rural schools, have had to drop music and the arts. It is absolutely not justifiable. We have a daughter who has her Fine Arts Degree in Performance Piano. By choice, we moved to a large enough school to give our children the opportunity to grow in many areas. They chose the classes they were interested in.
My oldest chose Video Production, which he uses now, every day he goes to work. Besides my oldest, my youngest son chose to be in plays and performance arts. Oh, ... he could have shot for the valedictorian, but he chose not to drop music and thespian programs, rather than go for the higher, college-bound weighted courses. He uses his high school experiences, every day, as he graduates from Seminary this year.
Our youngest daughter worked on an Individual Educational Plan (IEP), to work through her Learning Disability. She graduated with honors and is now a beautician. Small schools can no longer afford the "luxuries" of having art as an option. Any art. And, ... in many small schools, they have no Physical Education, unless a child can play ball games or run track. Dropped because of NCLB, a Bush-whacking bombshell for small schools. So, is it just Oklahoma that is experiencing cut-backs in state-funded public eduction? Half of our states are struggling with an educational flu, with no anti-dote. Whose at fault? Take a guess. Is your state having problems with their education agenda? Check below, and, even if your state isn't listed, it probably has the flu, ... too!
Nice work, President!
Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin
Is a 34 year retired educator with a Masters Degree in Counseling - a free-lance writer with articles in Spanish and English Guideposts, Mothering, Oklahoma Observer, Oklahoma Gazette, Westview, Oklahoma Reader, The Lookout, Christian Standard ... . The author has the largest number of published "letters" in the history of Time magazine and NEA Today. Just had an LTTE in NEWSWEEK in December, 2007. Dale W. Hill is married with 5 children, 4 grand-children, one foster child, and 4 foster grandchildren. He and his wife, Marcella, live near Anadarko, Oklahoma, at which school he retired in 2002. Hill is a computer collector, writer, and musician. Hill is a historian of Country Music, with 1972 Ovation and Martin BackPacker guitars. Favorite diatonic harmonica is a Hohner Special 20 and all chromatics, that "...scream The Blues!!"
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