NCLB’s Toddler Years, Middle East School Woes, and Sleep Deprivation

Teacher Magazine ’s take on education news from around the Web, Jan. 5-11.

Celebrating the fourth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act , President Bush visited a public school in Maryland on January 9, telling a gym full of teachers, students, and visitors, “It’s a moral obligation to make sure that we herald success and challenge failure.” North Glen Elementary, the suburban Baltimore host school handpicked because of its gains in reading and math scores, evidently represents “success.” But plenty of critics continue to take shots at what they consider an underfunded mandate, with the U.S. Congress split over NCLB and the National Conference of State Legislatures calling its goals unreachable. Still, the prez, stopping by a 5th grade class with first lady Laura Bush and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in tow, couldn’t help but be inspired by the youngsters. Playing teacher, he asked, “Anybody read more than they watch TV?” A few nods then prompted him to add, “That’s...