Thursday, July 05, 2007

A letter to George Miller, a response, and a reply to the response

-----Original Message-----From: Sean Black [mailto:seanmblack64@yahoo.com]Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2006 1:21 AMTo: Miller, GeorgeSubject: NCLB

To the Honorable Congressman Miller:

I am writing to express my disgust in the "No Child Left Behind" legislation. And I am writing to you as you I understand you'd like to re-authorize NCLB. I am a teacher of twelve years, I hold a Masters of Arts in Physical Education, and an Education Specialist Degree in Education Leadership. I also hold a Professional Teacher License and a Provisional Principal License. However, experienced and educated teachers like me are apparently the last people legislators consult in developing education legislation. The result is draconian legislation such as NCLB. It is a full-frontal assault on public education.

The authors of NCLB have put forth ridiculous standards that are impossible to reach. When we as public educators do fail to meet these impossible standards, those who push for privatization will stand upon their soap boxes and point the finger at public education and public educators and say, "You have failed, therefore we must privatize education." If you, as a Congressman, believe in public education, you must act to turn the tide against this assault.

Public education is not perfect (nor is anything I am aware of) and can certainly be the beneficiaries of appropriate and reasonable public policy. The first step must be the elimination of the use of standardized tests as the sole measure of a school's success. The results of standardized tests in my last building demonstrate the narrowing of curriculum. The middle school students in my building have two ninety minute blocks of both math and language arts each day. They have a third ninety minute block of either science or social studies, alternating to one or the other each day. Students also get daily two electives (art, band, technology, Spanish, French, or physical education) of forty-five minutes each. Due to the fact that social studies and science (except for our 8th graders) are not included in the school's "grade" they are after-thoughts. However, it seems to me that if the purpose of public education is to create an educated electorate able to participate in our democratic republic, then we should not give short shrift to social studies. If the United States wishes to continue to be the leader in scientific innovation, we must curb our single-minded fascination with test scores as THE measure of a school's success.

The next important step must be to fund education appropriately. I realize that federal funding of education is less than ten percent of all public school education funding, but the ridiculous strings attached to receiving federal funds require massive amounts of dollars to be spent from the local revenues in order to receive these funds. Wouldn't $45 million be better spent on instruction in Colorado instead of testing (did a cow ever get fatter from putting it on a scale)? Is it too much to ask for Congress to cease to passing legislation that amount to unfunded mandates? However, I understand that the there are those who in their desire to eliminate public education in their quest to eliminate the American middle class will ask the impossible of public educators (who are brave enough to try to reach the impossible, the truly impossible, because there is nothing that we think we can't do through education).

Finally, I think it is important for the federal government to recognize that we are a vast nation of diverse people. To expect every school to be like every other school is asinine. There are skills and abilities necessary at every level. But there is no reason that a school on the shores of Maine should look like a school on the plains of Colorado should look like a school in inner-city Los Angeles . The notion of "local control" has been given lip service, and nothing more.

I ask of you, Congressman Miller, to consult real educators, those of us that are actually practicing in the profession when considering legislation that affects education. Please, understand that I believe that the problem with most legislators regarding education legislation is that because they went to school, they think they are experts in education. That is like saying because I went to a doctor I am an expert in medicine. Ultimately, I am asking you to begin an end in the assault on public education and public educators. There is no better institution in the United States than public education, and there are no more dedicated professionals than teachers.

Sincerely,

Sean Michael Black, M. A., Ed. S.

"Miller, George" wrote:

Thank you for writing me to share your comments about the No Child Left Behind Act. As I know you will agree, for far too long the public education system in this country has failed to ensure that all children have an opportunity to learn, regardless of their income, background, or race. Prior to enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, the achievement gap between wealthy and low income students, African-American children and white children, English speaking and limited English proficient students, was growing in spite of numerous educational reform efforts over the past forty years.

The enactment of No Child Left Behind signified a commitment to reversing the status quo and closing the achievement gap. Make no mistake, the reforms are working and we are well on our way to making sure that all students-not just some students, but all students-improve their learning at school. According to the latest NAEP reading and math scores among nine-year-olds and math scores of 13-year-olds are the highest on record. Achievement among African-American and Hispanic students has surged in the last five years, helping to narrow the achievement gap between white and minority students.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where I am the Senior Democrat, has held a series of hearings on the implementation of the law which will continue into next year. We also anticipate that there will be changes to the law as part of the reauthorization process. As the legislative process continues, I will be mindful of your comments and I invite you to continue to share with me your concerns.

Thank again for taking the time to share your concerns on this issue.

Sincerely,

GEORGE MILLER
Member of Congress, 7th District


Dear Congressman Miller,

It is painfully obvious to me that you did not read my letter, nor did any of your lackeys. Your response is an abomination and a joke. If you think NCLB is good for education, then I suggest you resign from Congress for a demonstration of TOTAL ignorance of the consequences of NCLB. I would appreciate a serious conversation about the legislation, rather than a spouting of Secretary Spellings talking points (which are at best exaggerations, at worst, blatant lies). In short, I am one public educator who is sick and tired of of the ignorance of our alleged leaders regarding public education.

NCLB is a full-frontal assault on public education as we know it. If NCLB is re-authorized in any kind of form it is now in, it will render public schools to being "worker delivery systems" for corporate America. The reform measures currently being put in place are not reforms. They are turning teachers into test preparation agents for the state. That is not why I became a teacher.

I have attached Gerald Bracey's article regarding the condition of public education. Perhaps reading it will enlighten you to what the effects of NCLB are, because your response to me demonstrates you are oblivious to the truth about public schools.

I hope that you will open your mind to the effects of NCLB. I hope you will seek to drastically alter NCLB. If NCLB isn't drastically altered, public education in the United States will cease to exist in any form that is worthwhile.

Sincerely,

Sean Michael Black

posted by Sean Black @ 12:39 PM 0 Comments

Sunday, July 01, 2007

To Senator Edward Kennedy - March 2007

Dear Senator Kennedy,

“No Child Left Behind” isn’t educational reform. It is the destruction of public education. There is no doubt in my mind that NCLB is nothing short of a full, frontal assault on public education disguised as Trojan horse claiming to close the achievement gap.

The authors of NCLB have put forth ridiculous standards that are impossible to reach. When we as public educators do fail to meet these impossible standards, those who push for privatization will stand upon their soap boxes and point the finger at public education and public educators and say, “You have failed, therefore we must privatize education.” If you, as a Senator, believe in public education, you must act to turn the tide against this assault.

Public education is not perfect (nor is anything I am aware of) and can certainly be the beneficiaries of appropriate and reasonable public policy. The first step must be the elimination of the use of standardized tests as the sole measure of a school’s success. The results of standardized tests in my last building demonstrate the narrowing of curriculum. The middle school students in that building had two ninety minute blocks of both math and language arts each day. They had a third ninety minute block of either science or social studies, alternating to one or the other each day. Students also received daily two electives (art, band, technology, Spanish, French, or physical education) of forty-five minutes each. Due to the fact that social studies and science (except for 8th graders) are not included in the school’s “grade” they are after-thoughts. However, it seems to me that if the purpose of public education is to create an educated electorate able to participate in our democratic republic, then we should not give short shrift to social studies. If the United States wishes to continue to be the leader in scientific innovation, we must curb our single-minded fascination with test scores as THE measure of a school’s success. It would also help to have a Presidential administration that embraces science, rather than eschews it.

The next important step must be to fund education appropriately. I realize that federal funding of education is less than ten percent of all public school education funding, but the ridiculous strings attached to receiving federal funds require massive amounts of dollars to be spent from the local revenues in order to receive these funds. Wouldn’t $45 million be better spent on instruction in Colorado instead of testing (did a cow ever get fatter from putting it on a scale)? Is it too much to ask for Congress to cease to passing legislation that amount to unfunded mandates? However, I understand that the there are those who in their desire to eliminate public education in their quest to eliminate the American middle class will ask the impossible of public educators (who are brave enough to try to reach the impossible, the truly impossible, because there is nothing that we think we can’t do through education).

Finally, I think it is important for the federal government to recognize that we are a vast nation of diverse people. To expect every school to be like every other school is asinine. There are skills and abilities necessary at every level. But there is no reason that a school on the shores of Maine should look like a school on the plains of Colorado should look like a school in inner-city Los Angeles. The notion of “local control” has been given lip service, and nothing more.

I ask of you, Senator Kennedy, to consult real educators, those of us that are actually practicing in the profession when considering legislation that affects education. Please, understand that I believe that the problem with most legislators regarding education legislation is that because they went to school, they think they are experts in education. That is like saying because I went to a doctor I am an expert in medicine. Ultimately, I am asking you to begin an end in the assault on public education and public educators. There is no better institution in the United States than public education, and there are no more dedicated professionals than teachers.

Sincerely,

Sean Michael Black, M. A., Ed. S.
Greeley, Colorado

posted by Sean Black @ 3:15 PM 0 Comments