I Like Pancakes

The link to the article I'm talking about is here.

Read the article, please.

No Child Left Behind has got to be by far one the worst laws ever created, and in my opinion the worst that has ever been implemented.

I have not read the hundreds of pages that make up the entirity of the bill; I have a life. Nonetheless I can still point out the gaping holes of idiocy between the non-existent bits of good sense. George Bush, what were you thinking?! My god man, did you throw darts at a board covered with terrible ideas and throw together whatever you hit? How does someone come up with such a crappy law and think it's a good idea?

I remember last year taking the annual statewide tests over all the core areas. The school was offering incentives (in the form of the option to be exempt from finals) to students if they did one of three things: 1) improve 3 points on the composite from last year, 2) score above the 42nd percentile on the composite, or 3) score above the 85th percentile. WHO CAN'T DO ONE OF THOSE THINGS?! Honestly, they tell you you're supposed to gain about 4 points every year, that is if you're an average student, you're set. If you score usually in the 60th percentile, you're set. And if you're generally achieving more than most, if you're in the 85th percentile, you're set. If a kid scored in the 9th this year, up from the 6th percentile, where he fell the year prior, he gets to skip a final?! I don't think so! Those kids who either can't or won't seem to learn anything very fast are the kids that need to take tests. Maybe if they get tested on something over and over and over and over and over and over and over something will stick. I also remember that my math teacher, whose room I was taking all these tests in, said that the state hoped to have 100% of the kids in the state above the 42nd percentile. .....hmmmm  Him being a math teacher and I being one with a good understanding of mathematics, we burst out laughing at this impossible goal. You simply cannot have 100 kids performing better than the bottom 42. It cannot happen in this universe. No. It's against the rules. Mr. President, go back to school first, and then realize your No Child Left Behind is utterly senseless.

For those of you just joining us, I am one who believes in those who are academically and generally excellent, those people at the top of society, those who get things done and don't apologize for succeeding. I absolutely hate it when people think they are deserving because they try or because they were born in a geographic area or during a certain time period. It isn't my fault nor is it my problem if you are an old person who lived through the Depression and who has failing health, so why should I pay for your healthcare? It isn't my fault your old country sucks and that you can't speak English, why should I pay taxes for your kids to go to our schools? It isn't my obligation to see that you have a job when you return home from war, why would you think so? If you want to debate freedom and service and sacrifice, not only is that another conversation but a ball-stompingly intense experience. Free enterprise. Survival of the fittest. Boo yah, grandma.

Why then, if our country was founded on these principles, do we run our schools like a super-liberal, everybody-is-going-to-be-happy-or-else kind of institution? Tracking isn't allowed in this country. That is, they do keep track of our scores and everything, but they don't affect you. Your scores don't hinder you in any way in this country. You could be a high-school graduate with a 1.77 GPA with an ACT score of nine, but if you've got enough money and the ability to make an effort, you could graduate with a law degree.
........How does that make sense? I'm certainly not going to hire someone such as just described to be my lawyer, and I think it insulting to other lawyers for an institution of higher learning to award such a person a degree in law. That sounds horrible and cynical, but if you don't have not demonstrated the mental capacity to make a compelling defense in court, or really learn anything in your entire career in primary education, how do you expect to succeed? I realize there are many, many, different types and practices of law, and obviously they don't all involve courtrooms, but my principle remains valid.

I don't quite know how to rap this up. I believe test scores and demonstrating ability says more than effort, and I don't think that people should be awarded for trying really hard, which I've said before but there are still more specific discussions to dissect.

Boom. Roasted.