Wiggle Giggle Learn... where education begins!

When will NCLB recognize there are two more wheels in the mix?

What the teacher can and can't do for the students

August 30, 2007 - The No Child Left Behind Act must be amended to include students and their parents in taking responsibility for their children's education.

 

As a teacher with 26 years of experience, there is only so much I can do to ensure that my students learn. I can provide meaningful lessons and assessments. I can provide their lessons in class, via e-mail and my Web page, and I can videotape each day's lesson. I can provide a safe and pleasant classroom environment. I can work 60-plus hours a week, communicate with parents and be available before and after school every single day. I can problem-solve with the family and student, but I can't ensure that the child and parents will follow through.

 

I can't sit with every child every night and help them with homework. I can't take them to the zoo, the ocean, a play, the symphony, or help them plant and tend a garden, build a bookshelf or paint their rooms.

 

(Click here to be taken to the Seattle Times site for the rest of the letter, plus a letter from another reader on the topic...)