TV: Happy Anniversary To NCLB & "The Wire"
Hard to believe it, but NCLB and "The Wire" are about the same age. NCLB was enacted in January 2002, and The Wire's first season began a decade ago this past Saturday.
Beyond that, the similarities end. NCLB was briefly popular, and then increasingly less so. The Wire was obscure and unpopular for most of its five seasons. Most people who came to know and love it never saw it "live" on HBO.
For a long history of the series (not much education in there) go here.
Thinking back on the show and my countless blog posts about it, I feel like "The Wire" wasn't particularly helpful on education issues but it captured the mind-blowing dysfunction the can happen in large bureaucracies, the chronic mistreatment of poor urban minorities, and the difficult interplay between idealism and political pragmatism.
The first thought that popped into my head reading this was simply “why did The Wire end 5 years ago, but NCLB is still the only measurement of success standard the government seems to take seriously?”
One can dream, I suppose.
Posted by: Sarah | June 06, 2012 at 08:24 AM