etceterae

No Child Left Behind is trying to make all students across the country, in essence, raise their grades. Teachers are being pushed harder and harder to improve our studies so that when the yearly examinations come, our schools will be labeled "Academically Acceptable" or something of the sort.

I am in 10th grade, and am in Pre-IB (which is like Honors or Pre-AP, but is more difficult and has a different English curriculum). As a gifted student (I apologize for my seeming lack of modesty, but I need to present the facts as they are), I have noticed that No Child Left Behind is actually leaving honors students behind, since teachers ditch us and concentrate instead on those who are failing. They believe that we honors students can manage perfectly on our own, whereas sometimes, the complete opposite is true; we are teenagers and still need guidance.

My friends and I have also noticed a dramatic increase in busy/pointless paperwork, as opposed to interactive, "Let's work this out together" lessons. Classes have shifted from teachers teaching us to teachers giving us worksheets and mostly ignoring us for the majority of the time. In fact, the learning philosophy has changed from, "Let's learn" to "Let's pass the test". As you can see, I heavily oppose No Child Left Behind, which I honestly believe had good intentions, but was poorly carried out.

Regulars students, however, have somewhat benefited from the act. Teachers are making more of an effort to reach out to them and make them pay attention, though in my school (which is in one of the best school districts in America), my friends in regulars have not noticed much difference at all. In fact, they complain of having loads of pointless homework that the teacher never actually checks.

What are your opinions on the subject of No Child Left Behind?

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