Crocodile Tears Over NCLB Reauth & Funding Levels
The Administration's decision to do a couple of NCLB anniversary events -- the President in Chicago (with Rahm Emmanuel in tow) and the Press Club EdSec speech -- seems to have pissed off their former NCLB allies Miller and Kennedy, who have both issued press releases decrying lack of funding for NCLB (Kennedy) and both funding and effort (Miller).
Some questions to ponder: Did the Bush folks plan these NCLB events because they wanted to or simply because they knew folks would make fun of them if they didn't? My guess is it's the latter. Were Kennedy and Miller surprised that the Bush folks wanted to talk NCLB this week, or just mad that they weren't invited? Again, I'd go with the latter. Did Bush and Spellings not do enough last year to get NCLB revamped? My sense is that they did all they could, given a Democratic majority and an unpopular administration (not to speak of an unpopular law). The NCLB problems were most of them on the Democratic side of things, as I recall. It all seems so long ago now.
See below for both statements, which, on second look, seem somewhat perfunctory. Maybe someone from the DNC called and told them to issue something, and it's just ritualistic politics here not true outrage.
Kennedy:
Chairman Kennedy responds to Secretary of Education’s remarks today on NCLB Reauthorization
WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to Secretary Spellings’ remarks made this afternoon at the National Press Club on reauthorizing No Child Left Behind.
Senator Kennedy said, “I agree with Secretary Spellings that we must work together to strengthen what is working in public school reform and fix what is not. We are committed to progress so every child can get ahead.
We can’t equip our students to compete in the world on the cheap. So I’m disappointed that the President’s education budgets have failed the test year after year. Too many of our nation's students are denied access to the best teachers, attend crumbling schools, use outdated textbooks and get lost in crowded classes that deny them individual attention. To continue to lead the world, America must invest in school reform and hold schools accountable for results.”
Chairman Miller Responds to Bush Administration on No Child Left Behind
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) issued the following response to remarks made today by U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings on the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. Miller, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, has been leading efforts in the House to significantly improve No Child Left Behind.
“Today Secretary Spellings said we are at a tipping point for the future of education in this country. I could not agree more.
“However, it is baffling that the Bush administration’s sudden sense of
urgency to change the law is coming on the heels of our Committee’s efforts to
significantly improve No Child Left Behind. Over the last year, we have offered
the President many opportunities to work with us in good faith. Instead, he has
refused to take part in any meaningful negotiations and has vetoed a much
needed increase in education funding. It is extremely disappointing that the
President continues to ignore the fact that No Child Left Behind is severely
underfunded, which continues to undermine the promise and potential of the law.
“We simply won’t be able to improve our public schools as long as President Bush continues to deprive states and schools of the resources they need to succeed. With his upcoming – and final – budget, the President has one last chance to demonstrate a real commitment to strengthening schools by providing a long overdue education funding increase. I am committed to making accountability in our schools fair and flexible, and hope that President Bush will finally join this effort by supporting both the reforms and the funding needed to build a strong and innovative future for our students and our country.”
I'm thrilled that George Miller has endorsed Obama.
My logic is similar to my continued support of Charlie Rangel, even though he still supports the infamous federal drug law of 1986. That law and NCLB are virtually twins. Both undercut the discretion of professionals. The drug law atempted a lawyer-proof legal reform while NCLB promoted teacher-proof educational approaches. Most of us who had street smarts knew that the drug law would fill our prisons and the prime reason would be institutional, not personal, racism.
And as is shown in The Wire, both laws encouraged "juking the stats," or tricks to make the numbers look good. Chief Bratton, who pioneered the most effective police response the the pathologies that increased during the Crack epidemic, said that data-driven accountability is like chemotherapy. In proper doses, it does good, but contiunued too long it becomes a poison.
For nearly 20 years, judged tried to get the politicians and the Court to restore their discretion. I'm hopeful that an Obama/Miller alliance could move us beyond the ham-handed approach spurred by NCLB.
Obama provides an opportunity to move beyong petty disputes. We need a wide tent of Obama/Miller/Rangel etc. And its better to have people inside the tent peeing out rather than outside, peeing in.
DT
Posted by: John Thompson | January 10, 2008 at 18:13 PM