Current Policy on NCLB

In my last post, I mentioned the issues that are presented by NCLB. It might also be helpful to know the current political opinion and the past political opinion on the Act. When NCLB was enacted in 2001, President Bush believed that the bill would help to increase the literacy rates and reading level of students, and better the math skills of students in the US as well. He wanted students to succeed. He videos posted below describe Bush’s opinions about the plan in greater detail.

Here is a video link of President Bush discussing NCLB:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=invKzk3vaRI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpcG8QRNWHU&NR=1


On the other hand, President Obama’s views on the program are quite different. He believes that the US government needs to reform NCLB. Here is a list of the policy changes that the President plans on making:
1. He would like to be able to increase funding for the law.
2. He also believes that teachers should not be under so much pressure to elicit progress from students on one certain test. This is because it creates resentment of the government, policy makers, and school systems by the teachers. He plans on allowing teachers to return to a more creative and diversified curriculum.
3. Schools that are improving in general should be rewarded with more resources. He believes that schools shouldn’t be punished because one grade did not meet AYP if the rest of the school, in addition to the students in that grade, is improving. He also wants to support schools that need improvement instead of punishing them.

Check out these video links of President Obama talking about reforming NCLB:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0L2GEBhd2w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsVimwm6xQ4

Here are some other interesting video clips about NCLB:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTzLILQx3c

In this video, different kids talk about their future and if they will be ready for what the future presents. NCLB hinders them from experiencing important life experiences.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kra_z9vMnHo