Ever wonder why "No Child Left Behind" was an abject failure?
Wonder where the Republicans parlayed No Child Left Behind to scapgoating teachers?
MSNBC's Ed Shultz had a remarkable program and through the panel discussions a lot of reality over two hours started to take shape.
Without getting into a lot of history and drama the educational process in the USA has definate failures in areas where low income and minorities live and conduct their lives.
It comes down to this.
The Republicans under George Walker Bush 'lumped' all the low performing 'socio-economic' areas in with areas of the country already performing at standard or higher and called it a 'program.' That put all American students 'at risk' for lower standard performance and decreased the competency of the country's educational 'processes.'
In No Child Left Behind, schools were held responsible for teacher performance. The schools exhibiting poor teacher performance were victimized rather than analyzed. They were excluded from monies rather than infused with monies and experts to attempt to resolve problems. While New York City schools, under the direction of a Republicans mayor, may have made changes that brought a reality about teachers with problem records, it also had assets and income to draw on to work on troubled areas that many other school systems around the country, especially in the southern states, did not.
The reality began to play out again, that 'those that have, get.' It is a reality in the USA. If a city, county, state have monies that support their improvements and concentrate experts positive outcomes occur. If they don't and are an impoverished area of the country they require 'outside' interest to improve their standard of living. The most extreme example of success are the Appalachian communities which required an act of congress to assist them to a higher standard of living.
After Bush left office and "Race to the Top" became the 'standard' for improving the public school system, the program did not 'go away,' it was incorporated into the strategies of the Regressive Republicans. They continued to 'target' teachers as 'the problem;' generalizing the problem as they always do to win 'every man's support' rather than speaking 'the truth' in that No Child Left Behind never worked and was a racist program in origin.
The teachers throughout the country have become victimized by the Regressive Republicans as their scapegoats to solve budgetary problems. I have said it over and over, the Republicans do not have ideas, they do not have good policies because they play politics rather than seeking solutions. When solutions are evasive because the politics have proven the 'electorate' had the wrong idea, it is easy then to say, "That didn't work," and continue to receive consent by the electorate to keep trying while victimizing whomever they can along the way as 'the real reason' this isn't working. Basically, 'difficult people belong to Democratic organizations and principles.'
So long as we continue down this path with Regressive Republicans playing politics with the nation now entrenched in profound problems inherited from the previous administration we will get nowhere. The troubled areas of the USA are still as troubled as they were before Bush took office. Actually, they have more troubles. What occurred were 'Charter Schools' with 'themes' that were sure to work rather than infusing expertise, monies and solutions into failing areas of the country. Charter schools have been marginally successful, but, today they are 'thought' to be the solution to dissolving the public school system and destroying the unions that have supported teachers and the Middle Class.
The Regressive Republicans have been successful in fooling the people of the USA into believing 'their value system' is the problem and not their party. It is outrageous, it is failing and it will continue to fail unless they are stopped.
The Value System the Republicans have advocated to replace the decency of the Middle Class is a dance linking government and business in priorities for the country. It will continue to victimize the country rather than solve its problems. The Recall Votes have to go forward. It is unfortunate this is an issue as private sector 'out of state' interests are 'paying' plenty for defeat of the teachers and their unions in the recall elections.
