This post is directed to my DIS friends that are teachers. 
I'm writing a paper on the "No Child Left Behind Act" I'm doing my research and just wanted some insight from current teachers. I want to have more background knowledge on the subject.
My questions for the teachers are:
How does NCLB affect your classroom?
Do you still look forward to teaching everyday when you have to follow a cookie-cutter curriculum?
Does the curriculum actually make a difference on how the students learn? Are they excited or do they get bored with repeating same thing every day?
Any insight you can give me, will help writing this paper a lot easier.
The biggest thing with NCLB act is the pressure to have students perform on the standardized tests. There is a lot of stigma attached to not meeting AYP because a subgroup (in our case special ed students) didn't perform as high as they should have!
Yes, we did like those giraffe pictures!
Thanks, Jackie, for reminding me to answer Cheena's questions. I can think more clearly now. I wanted no part of thinking about school things last night!
Cheena, I agree with Jackie - it's all about the testing. They 'whip' teachers in every way they can to perform better, but we are teaching our brains out as it is. Special Ed students cannot be expected to perform highly on a standardized test, yet their scores count and make us look 'bad'. We have a third of our students who are ELL (English Language Learners), and they have to take the same test as those who have grown up speaking English. If I were to spend next year in Italy and had to take the same test an Italian student did, written in that language, I don't see how anyone could expect me to do anything but guess on most of it, yet my score could make my teacher look like he/she was a poor teacher. The whole thing is written out by people who are not in classrooms seeing the real day to day activity. Until they take off their thousand dollar suits and come and spend the year in our school and prove they can do better, I can't really have much faith in what they think. And I would be willing to bet that not one of them would take that offer to spend the year in my school.
We are given a standards book at the beginning of the year, and those are the things we can and must teach. They are always throwing new programs on us to make things better....supposedly. We test two weeks at the beginning of school, two weeks in the middle (coming up soon), and two weeks at the end. That is one-on-one with each student, so the others are doing busy work and/or doing everything they can behind the teacher's back while we are testing.
I will say this. I like teaching, but I hate the testing. In my opinion, we grew up to be competent, functioning adults the way we were taught in school. The more testing that is being implemented and the more programs they hand us seems to be producing just the opposite. Maybe I see things differently because of the kind of school I am in. Our kids are almost 100% free/reduced lunch, which means their resources at home (books, computers, etc.) and their life experiences, such as travel, are limited. The first year I was at this school, I was reading a book about the Statue of Liberty. Only one kid in the group of about twelve (I was doing Title I small groups) knew what it was.
One kid recognized the Statue of Liberty! Anyway, that is what my school is fighting against, and I might feel very differently if I were at a school with a higher socio-economic background.
We have lost excellent teachers to other types of jobs and to early retirement because of the rigors of what they are handing down to us every year. A very high percentage of new teachers leave in the first three years. I like the actual teaching part, but if you were to tell me I could walk out the door and never return, I would gladly do it, and that would be strictly because of the testing and paperwork. I would venture to say there is not a teacher in my building that wouldn't say the same, and most would say it would be strictly because of the testing and paperwork pressures, as well.
I could go on.
Can you believe we have never seen Fantasmic? I'd like to possibly see it next trip. Great update MeMom!
It is my favorite night time show.
