Why does it sound like people are "Fed" Up?

I am looking forward to a very interesting week in class as we discuss the federal role in education. Through my readings this week, it strikes me that the three main roles the federal government plays or have played in education are (1) funding, (2) supervising the desegregation of schools, and (3) the enforcement of equality and adequacy. I will be curious to see if anyone else found other areas.

This week’s topic will also prove to be quite emotionally charged, I believe. The discussion of the role that the federal government plays in education seems to be tied very tightly to political parties. In one of the articles I read, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at 40: Equity, Accountability and the Evolving Federal Role in Public Education the authors Thomas and Brady identified that ““To directly address concerns regarding national control over education, the drafters of ESEA included a provision explicitly stating that the federal government could not ‘exercise and direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel, or over the selection of any instructional materials in any educational institution or school system’ – Public Law 89-10, Section 604” (p. 52).

While NCLB and still tried to keep the original provision intact, there was certainly more federal involvement in the pieces than before. For instance, while the United States Department of Education was not stating what curriculum should be used, they emphasized very strongly the fact that the curriculum needed to be research-based. The phrase research-based appears over 100 times in the NCLB law of 2001.

Where will we go with the reauthorization of NCLB? It appears that there will be more federal involvement in a great number of aspects of PK – 12 education. As the fall goes on and more information is released about Race to the Top, we will all begin to understand how states, state departments of education, LEAs, schools, and teachers will all be affected by this new manifestation of ESEA.

A preview of things to come?

How can someone not be excited to take a class on The Politics of Education?

While I am sure there will be a number of places to gain perspective, one great jumping off point will be reflecting on the posts from Bridging Differences. I am already hooked after reading We're Relying on an Absurd Definition of Achievement. Deborah Meier has demonstrated so many examples of how measuring achievement through testing is not the answer. I am going to have to find a way to use one particular quote of hers at my job to really drive (no pun intended) her point home: “Achievement equals standardized test scores in reading and math; others add test scores in other subjects, including aptitude/IQ tests. Everything else gets called ‘soft skills.’ It’s as absurd as calling the written driving test the real achievement and the road test a measure of ‘soft’ skills.”

Hopefully, we will all feel comfortable enough this semester to have some great discussion on where things seem to be going in our schools, school divisions, and nation and how that compares to where we all believe they should be going.