Opinion
Education Opinion

You Know the Drill

November 11, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Rail Road Flat and NCLB, a place and an idea that created the perfect storm—a lost community adopts “drill and kill” as a means to an end [and] test scores as the sole indicator of school success [“One-Track Minds,” August/September]. I wonder what kind of lifelong learners these children will become because of this self- admitted grind? Who will then be blamed? The taxpayers and teachers in Rail Road Flat, the California Department of Education, or the students themselves?

If it is purely a financial matter, there are two options for this community: Take all of the money being spent on the school now and just give it to the children as a form of welfare, or close the school and “save” the money.

Learning is not an academics versus character education proposition. Its main function is to enable children to become citizens—requiring basic skills, a work ethic, and a sense of community, fun, and humanity. Robots that can fill in circles on a test answer sheet may satisfy NCLB, but will they grow up to be happy adults?

Joseph Gerzina

Oil City, Pennsylvania

The article “One-Track Minds” was the most depressing thing I’ve read in a long time. It was particularly disturbing to me to read about a school that has dispensed of student engagement strategies. In other words, students pay attention, “or else.”Although their test scores may be high, it seems to me that the students at Rail Road Flat Elementary are being robbed of a real education. Real learning requires student engagement and intrinsic motivation built over time. “Plowing ahead” may get a school into the state testing hall of fame, but how is it serving the lives of its students?

The teacher in the article called his work a “grind.” If this is really what is expected to succeed under NCLB, count me out. I’ll work at a failing school any day!

Jennifer Wildman

Watsonville, California

Related Tags:
Opinion

A version of this article appeared in the November 01, 2005 edition of Teacher Magazine as You Know the Drill

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
Mathematics Webinar How to Build Students’ Confidence in Math
Learn practical tips to build confident mathematicians in our webinar.
Student Achievement K-12 Essentials Forum How to Build and Scale Effective K-12 State & District Tutoring Programs
Join this free virtual summit to learn from education leaders, policymakers, and industry experts on the topic of high-impact tutoring.

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: April 16, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Quiz ICYMI: Do You Know What 'High-Quality Curriculum' Really Means?
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Image of curricula.
iStock/Getty
Education Quiz ICYMI: Lawsuits Over Trump's Education Policies And More
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Image of money symbol, books, gavel, and scale of justice.
DigitalVision Vectors
Education Quiz ICYMI: Trump Moves to Shift Special Ed Oversight And More
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on TikTok in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on TikTok in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP