"Many Children Left Behind" Commentary

In Dave's US Government Thought, the blogger takes on the subject of education and the No Child Left Behind Act, more specifically. He criticizes the required standardized tests and the money that schools must waste giving them. While I feel that Bush thought he was doing something good when he passed this law, I think that there are many things that should be improved on it.

It's been a year and a half since I've been in high school, but I doubt anything has changed in that small amount of time. I think that the idea of standardized tests overshadows the idea of teaching in high school. For those in AP classes students aren't so much learning, they're memorizing facts and dates and fretting about what the specified essay is going to have them talk about. The multiple choice aspect of these standardized tests is also flawed because it focuses on what the students don't know -- not what they do know. I myself did the International Baccalaureate program in high school. It's talked about as the step above AP and feared by many as far as difficulty goes. But the truth is (besides the 150 community service hours and many extra papers/projects), I feel that this program is in a way easier because of the formatting of the standardized tests. With a few exceptions, the tests are all essay. Not just that, but students are usually given a couple of choices for essay. In this way the students are getting to show the grader what they really do know, which I think is extremely important considering the sheer volume of information high school expects you to swallow. And you know what? Only three out of over thirty students at my school who went through this two-year program failed to receive enough points on their tests to get their IB diploma. This is opposed to the half of my Spanish IV class (including me) who did not pass the Spanish AP test. That being said, I got a 2/4 on my Spanish AP test and a 6/7 on my Spanish IB test. I feel like something is wrong with that.

I'm not particularly in favor of the No Child Left Behind Act because it encourages a system that focuses on what we do not know, when school should be about so much more than that. It gives teachers less room to inspire and makes school unbearable at times. There are some areas, such as Math and Science, that are harder to make exciting, but I've had teachers that can do it with a fun project or presentation. The fact is that we are given so much to learn on such a tight schedule that there is no room to stray from the syllabus. I think that if kids are more interested in what they are learning, the test scores would show it. However at a high school level I think that many choose for themselves whether they want to succeed or not. In this sense the No Child Left Behind Act would better serve if it focused on those who really needed it. This money should be used to create new programs for those who aren't taking AP or IB classes, because (I know I'm risking coming off as high and mighty) those are the kids who usually need it the most.

Obama Criticism

The election of Barack Obama was an important one. Not only did it get many young people involved (and passionate about) in politics, but it marked the changing of times. He won over citizens with promises of change and a slogan that told us "yes we can." However as times passes Obama is the target of more and more criticism concerning his policies and the progress he has made in helping our country flourish.

Sarah Palin is just one of the many to voice her opinion of the President (and his lack of efficiency in terms of immigration reforms), with her somewhat controversial comment that Arizona's governor (who happens to be female) "has more 'cojones' than Obama." She goes on to say that Obama is "in over his head" and "too weak" to deal with issues such as immigration and national security. But, the Arizona Lawsuit (to which Palin is referring) aside, the White House is making an attempt to do something about immigration. Today CNN reported that the House of Representatives approved $600 million to go to border patrol along the U.S. and Mexico, which has attracted "strong Democratic and Republican support."

However it is not all about national security and immigration. On Monday Obama visited the University of Texas at Austin to talk about higher education. In his speech the President details some of his accomplishments over the last 18 months. This includes ending combat in Iraq this month and making health care more affordable (and allowing kids to stay on their parents' health care plan until the age of 26). Obama also talks about his goal of making the United States a "green country", which he hopes will in turn help the economy. Most of all though, our President speaks about higher education as the path to a better economy. Our college graduate rate has fallen and Obama plans to help by "making college more affordable" by creating programs to make it easier to pay back loans and strengthening Pell Grants.

Despite the criticism of many, the President is trying to do what he thinks is right for this country. Time's photographer Callie Shell, who has had many chances to observe Obama closely recounts that she still sees the same man who fought in the election; "[Obama] still listens to several opinions, he still likes to have his ideas challenged."

I don't think, as Palin put it, that Obama is "in over his head" as the President of the United States -- I think that he is a very cautious individual and is taking the necessary steps to help our country. We should all have open minds now and give him the opportunity to put his plans to use.

Obama, the post-race President?

Racism is a sticky subject. Some people like to confront it head on while others do not feel comfortable discussing the subject; however it would be foolish to say that racism does not exist. In Luke's US Politics blog, "Obama: the post race-president?" addresses racism in our country today, especially considering we recently elected our first African American president.

Luke rightfully concluded that "racial tensions have not been eradicated" by simply electing Obama as president. I think it's foolish to assume that this would happen. However, one thing that I would have to disagree with is the writer's assumption that people's excitement over our new President was because it meant the "mess from slavery" had finally come to an end. That probably has something to do with the excitement, however I think it's more of the fact that this election was so progressive. Whether Obama or Clinton won the primaries, it was distinct because it showed the nation that you don't have to be a white male to gain support from the country. This is important for people to see because Obama (and Hillary) gave hope to those who before felt restricted by stereotypes.

I don't necessarily think that racial tensions are worse than before, but I think that an African American president will of course cause some people to make a scene. Rarely in the past have we had someone that represented new, progressive ideas of the nation and was welcomed with open arms by everybody. With change there will always be those who reject it. I generally agree with Luke's opinion that Obama is not the post-race president, however I do think that he is one step closer to that.