Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

Act of Recognition

November 12, 2004 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

I enjoyed the interview with Douglas Carnine, the former Bush adviser who was an “architect” of the No Child Left Behind Act [“Called To Account,” Current Events, October 2004], as I have often wondered about those who shaped this piece of legislation. Just a few weeks before the presidential election, something Carnine said really struck me. He comments, “It’s not perfect legislation, and it’s not perfect implementation, and the process will improve it. ...” Whether it will improve, though, still seems in question. According to polls, one of the biggest things undecided voters like myself wanted to see during the [presidential] debates was Bush admitting that he had made mistakes, that all of his legislation was not perfect or perfectly implemented. While most viewers probably thought of Iraq, as a public school teacher my thoughts turned to NCLB.

Although other legislators in Congress have made moves to correct the shortcomings of this act, neither Bush nor the top proponents of the bill have ever publicly recognized that it’s not perfect or that educators might know what they’re talking about when it comes to identifying problems in legislation like NCLB. Recognition is the first step in nearly all rehab programs, and recognition from the top that NCLB needs revising might be the first step toward rehabilitating a well- intentioned piece of educational policy.

Elizabeth A. Self

Charlottesville, Virginia

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read