No Child Left Behind a.k.a. Lowering the Bar

Since January 8th, 2002 there has been a law in place known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 which in essence is a commitment that all schoolchildren will attain the level of education required at certain milestones.

John Herneschenk: Valedictorian and Chief Ditch Technician

Ironically it was George W. Bush who first proposed this act which requires each state to set an education goal, measure every child's performance with respect to the goal and hold accountable those institutions who do not achieve the standard. Any school which is below par forfeits their share of a federal slush fund, leaving more money for the better performing schools. A kind of educational elitism.

Anyway to cut a long debate short, the school districts are lowering the bar in order for the lesser abled students to achieve a passing grade, thus earning the schools a share of the cash. This has a knock on effect of not stretching the stronger students to the full extent of their abilities.

Why are we dumbing down the country to Bush's level. We could be developing the majority of our students to be the best that they can be, while leaving just a small percentage of children behind.

After all this country needs it's share of ditch diggers, but making it the profession of an entire nation is senseless.