A Line in the Sand

The arguments regarding NCLB, both pro and con, are at first glance complex and confusing. Myriad special interest groups spout statistics, cite experts, and brandish research that justifies maintaining NCLB in its present state, or perhaps tweaking it, or maybe overhauling it, or just abolishing it completely, depending on who you're listening to at the moment.

This debate is not nearly as "shades of gray" as it seems. At the heart of this argument lies a fairly straightforward question facing all of us:

Are we, and our fellow human beings simply another species of animal, or are we something more?

What's that got to do with NCLB? Just about everything.

If you view humans as just another form of life on this planet, your treatment of your fellow man is going to reflect that view. For some it's a simple matter to take the rules that apply to animal life in general and apply them to the human race. Consider:

Many species of animal live in a rigid social structure (hive, pack, school, herd) in which the life of the individual is of little value, and easily traded in order to promote the survival of the group. Survival of the fittest is the rule, and if you are among the unfit, well, tough.

Every herd needs a leader, someone whose "fitness" qualifies them to make the decisions for the rest of the herd, and to enforce those choices by any means possible. If that doesn't happen to be you, again, tough.

Animals do not possess "free will." They are prisoners of environmental conditions that cause them to behave in predictable ways through reward and punishment. And so are you.

Once you've seen one rat/wildebeest/sardine/etc., you've seen them all. You can measure a few individuals of a species in a great number of ways, and then describe the entire species with the numbers you've generated. Physical or behavioral differences of/by individuals within the species that fall outside the parameters of this mathematical description can be considered anomalies and simply disregarded.

Life is about competition. Animals of different species, and individuals within the same species, compete for common, limited resources. The strong survive and the weak go hungry and perish. That's just the way it is when you're an animal.

But what if you believe otherwise? What if you believe that humans are something unique - a species whose sentience sets us apart from the rest of the planet's inhabitants? What if there is within us some indefinable spark of magic, a touch of divinity that separates us from the rest the planet's life while at the same time binding us to an alternate standard of conduct unique to our special standing in the world?

Such belief requires a respect for the personal journey each of us makes in the course of a lifetime, a deep regard for the potential within every person, and the share of the space and time it needs to develop. Cooperation, rather than competition, seems to make more sense.

This divine spark defies measurement by the crude tools of science, and any attempt to measure and quantify it will be about as successful as trying to pick up mercury with your fingers. Our diversity must be respected as a special feature of humanity, and attempts to standardize humans must fly in the face of a grand understanding that is beyond us.

We are required to reject the wholesale manipulation of the environment to produce "desirable" behaviors in those around us, by those who see themselves as fit to serve as our shepherds.

Take a look now at the No Child Left Behind legislation with its domineering (and cynical) carrot-and-stick approach, its misplaced faith in "statistics," and its attempt to homogenize the population through standardized curriculum and standardized tests. There is no doubt how those who created it must feel about the rest of us.

There are not shades of gray in this matter. NCLB is an affront to humanity. There is no fixing it.

Pick your side and take a stand.

Comments

[gypsy]

We are animals, with highly evolved brains. That doesn't turn us into anything "divine". Divinity is an invention of our species, a human conceit. We evolved by competing with other animals, and the verdict is still out as to whether we will be as successful as previous species, such as the dinosaurs. I realize that must be quite an affront to the author. Part of the reason we have been as successful as we are is the fact we work together, sort of like a pack of wolves, or herd of wildebeest.
This is not to say NCLB is a good program, but it is not a bad program because of it's intent to bring the level of education in this country up.

[perfectlydocile]

If you believe your children are simply highly evolved animals, then by all means bring them up accordingly. That is your right as a parent. My point is that I have the same right to bring up my children according to my beliefs. For that to happen schools need to be under local control, where parents have more input into curriculum than educrats in Lansing and Washington D.C.

NCLB could have a chance to work if humans were simply parts of a machine, or animals to be trained to perform, but we're not.
NCLB was not forced upon us to narrow any achievement gap. That was just part of the advertising. Its purpose was to hand control of education in the United States to corporate interests that wish a more compliant, predictable work force and gullible customers for its products.
It is a costly, disastrous mistake, so apparent that even the Texas Republican Party, who brought us NCLB (via George W. Bush, Sandy Kress, and Rod Paige), called for it to be abolished as part of their 2008 party platform in no uncertain terms.

[BlueWaterTeacher]

I assume you have read "Catching Up or Leading the Way." Your thoughts?

[Scott]

No, I haven't read it yet, but I'm going to. What is very interesting to me, and something I didn't discuss in "In Michigan, It's All Business, As Ususal," is that one of the background readings the "task force" was provided was a piece by, I believe, the same author on the education system in China. It highlighted the "strong central control" that Chinese government has over education, and how it allowed the system to respond quickly to the needs of the economy. Strange how the needs of our economy trump the needs of our democracy. What's funny now is that China is actually loosening its grip on the classroom because they've realized that diversity of thought is necessary to foster creativity, and creativity is what the economic health of their country, and our country, really needs.