McDonnell, Lorraine M. (2005). No Child Left Behind and the Federal Role in Education: Evolution or Revolution?

This article examines the interrelationships of various educational agencies at the federal, state and local levels. It identifies the intended roles of these organizations and recognizes their purpose and limitations from a historical perspective. There are comparisons made between both the Title1 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates. It also helps in understanding the political agenda of NCLB. After having read other documents such as, "No Child Left Behind" in Urban Education: Solving a Crisis or Creating One and “Cooking the Books” by S. Macrine, this article offered a perspective that broadened my understanding of the issues confronting these policies

As we well know there are major issues concerning the policies of NCLB. However it is our responsibility as educators to research information that supports our concerns. One issue that continuously comes to the forefront of these policies is accountability and the imperatives associated with it.

Have these educational policies shifted their intended focus to other areas or are they just subtle transformations? One could argue that nothing has significantly changed since the 1960’s. However it appears that during each change government administration has created a need to approach dilemmas in new ways.

The ideology that justified public education was beginning to shift its focus in the 1980’s. This article explains that it went from remedying the effects of past injustices to promoting broad-based access to tools necessary for economic self-sufficiency. During the 1990’s the educational reform issues moved toward core instruction. Over time research evidence suggested that standardized tests were one of the most powerful tools that politicians had at their disposal.

According to this article there has been more of an evolution than a revolution with educational policies and that there has not been in radical changes made in either of the aforementioned mandates.

New Approaches to Learning

I had the opportunity of viewing a documentary, Common Miracles: The New American Revolution In Learning, on new approaches to learning that was evocative and made me reflect upon the way I have seen our educational system work for many years. It was an exemplary laboratory of new approaches to learning. This documentary clearly demonstrated that the old ways of learning just aren’t adequate to tap the unlimited potential of the human mind.

While there were several excerpts that were thought provoking to me, there is one that stands out most poignantly. It involved some elementary school kids. They had to complete a classroom assignment that required the use of computers. The assignment was brought up on the monitor and the children weren’t given any further instructions. They were allowed to collaborate with other pupils and work in groups. The teacher wasn’t to give any help or instruction; they were left alone to accomplish the assignment.

This should have been called a course in wonderment, because the kids were so excited when they figured out for themselves how to accomplish the assignment . It became an exposition for the kids to display their cognitive skills and work on their own. They were using what is known as metacognitive skill. The teacher was interviewed and she stated ;“It was very hard not to intervene in this learning process”, however she was astounded at the results of this new approach as she watched. She was use to the old way of teaching; show and tell style.

It is so important for the new teacher to familiarize themselves with these new learning methodologies, because it cannot only make a difference in their lives-a sense of self fulfillment- but most importantly have a profound effect on the students’ level of comprehension and learning ability.