Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act

President Bush made a landmark in education law and that revolutionary move was called No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). The NCLB or nickelbee, as called by some, became a highly controversial US federal law. It gave authority once again to a few federal programs intended to better primary schools and secondary schools in the United States by raising accountability standards for schools, school districts, and states. It also provides parents more choices of schools for their children to enroll to. Moreover, the NCLB is making reading its center of attention and it reauthorized the ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965).

The No Child Left Behind Act is a federal legislation that works on the belief that if actually measurable goals and high expectations are set, every child’s scholastic outcome can improve. This law then requires all states to have certain assessments developed, assessments that would test students’ basic skills. If states do not follow through, they will not receive any federal funding for their schools. There is no achievement standard set nationally however. Instead, such standards will be set by each state as deemed appropriate. The No Child Left Behind Act also requires each school to submit enrolled students’ information like address, phone number and name to military recruiters except if a student or the parents specifically says no.

The NCLB became so controversial because there were many people who were vocally against it and there were also many who wholeheartedly support the law. Plenty of negatives as well as positive points were raised. One of the more vocally stressed negative points of the NCLB is that effectiveness of instruction as well as students’ learning can be greatly reduced. The reason behind this is that states may opt to set achievement goals that are low and will spur the teachers to teach only those things that are relevant to the tests.

One of the primary supportive points for the No Child Left Behind Act is that a testing system will finally determine which schools in the country are not effectively teaching their students the necessary basic skills. If this data can be gathered, proper intervention can then be made to improve the performance of that certain school. The outcomes produced by students can then be improved through the No Child Left Behind Act. Also, achievement gaps can be lowered for those students who are disabled and at a disadvantage.

What is Home-schooling?

Home schooling, as the name implies, is the process of teaching children in their homes, usually by their parents. Since the turn of the 21st century, this process is becoming more and more popular. The practice of home schooling has been legal in every state since 1993. This opened up a large opportunity to parents who had concerns about having their children put in normal public schools. Currently, according to the National Household Education Surveys Program, there are roughly 1.1 million children in the USA who are being home schooled!

There are many reasons why parents may want to teach their children at home. For example, many parents wish to have their children attend private schools, but can not afford it. Some children have special needs and parents may feel that they would perform better at home than in a classroom, or may be afraid that their child will be made fun of. Some parents may decide to have their children taught at home because of a strict religious upbringing that they feel is not compatible with secular public schools. Another reason that parents may opt for home schooling is because children often perform better when taught by their parents because they have their undivided attention. In fact, one of the reasons that some people are against home schooling is because it gives some children an unfair advantage.

While home schooling may sound like a new concept, it’s actually been practiced since the beginning of history. In America, home schooling was the preferred method up until the late 1800s as a matter of fact. It was during this time that new laws were passed that forced children to attend school under penalty of law. Therefore, it’s no surprise that most prominent presidents of the United States, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln, were home schooled.

Although home schooling is great, it does have some problems that most people can agree upon. Regrettably, within the confines of their homes, children are not getting enough exposure to the real world outside. Even though they perform wonderfully on their test scores, when confronted with the real business world they may not have enough experience dealing with people to be effectual in their jobs. The good news is that if a parent is responsible enough, there are many social programs that they can enlist their children in that can give them the real world experience that they need.