Our nation implemented the “No Child Left Behind Act” by our ex-governor George Bush back in January of 2001. Every student was required to read and do math at their required grade level. According to the article by the Austin American-Statesman on July 19th regarding House votes to replace No Child Left Behind Law, the Obama administration found this stipulation to be unattainable and allowed waivers towards the law. They stated how the teachers were too busy focusing on “teaching to the test” and that there were entirely too many standardized tests trying to meet the law’s quota. Instead of focusing on testing each child, Texas needs to invest in their early education. How a child performs during single testing doesn’t exactly dictate their individual skill sets.
Texas should contribute more towards Head Start programs and
individuals meeting the poverty standards should not be the only ones allowed
access to these programs. I am a veteran
to the Head Start program, and recall my mother having to cheat the system
because she didn’t fall within their poverty stricken guidelines. My grandmother was willing to take guardianship
of me so that I could qualify under her poverty status and receive an early
start at an education. I recall how much
of an impression it made on me, and I too cheated the system so that my children
could attend Pre-K because my income level was not low enough to qualify. Just because a child is born into poverty
doesn’t mean they should be the only ones privileged to a free start at an education.
4 comments:
On Friday August 8, 2014, Blogger Adela Moreno posted an article, An Early Start at Education for All, on her blog called Forgotten Alamo. In her article, Adela argues that an early start on education is very crucial for a child’s future success. I completely agree with Adela. In one of my previous blogs called Clash over Education, I explained that early education such as Pre-K and Head-Start are very necessary and effective in the development of education. Texas should definitely invest more time and money in early education because cutting funding will only hurt these children in the future. Early education should be available to all children regardless of their parents’ financial qualifications. Just like Adela parents, my parents also cheated the system in order for my siblings and me to have an early start in school because they know that children are most eager and ready to learn when they are young. Adela’s argument is very relevant in today’s society.
After reading, An Early Start at Education for All, I am more aware of the financial implications on education programs. Adela Moreno forms an argument on how many families do not qualify for Early Start programs because they are only targeted towards families with poverty status. The argument is supported by the author’s own personal experience with the Early Start program. Although it takes away from the authors credibility when she says how she had to cheat the system. To make this argument stronger the author could of added more background of who can qualify for these programs. Reading the embedded article from the Statesman did not show any evidence to support these programs either. Moreno makes a strong point that the government needs to focus on these programs. With the House voting to replace No Child Left Behind, there needs to be a new standard created. The embedded article defines what how each political party feels on education. Positively I agree with Moreno, that standardized testing should be done away with. Overall this is a great argument that just needs more factual evidence. Focusing on the early fundamentals of a child’s education is the start to a bright future.
In response to Adela Moreno blog posting on August 8, 2014. titled "An early start at education for all" " found her blog titled "Forgotten Alamo" i quite agree with her that every child regardless of parents financial background need to be given the equal opportunity of starting education at an early age mostly pre-k. This is because it enhances the child educational performance in the future; a child who starts at the early age to obtain his educational goal may be more likely to succeed in future education than the child who is denied such opportunity. Also a child who starts school early is likely to be respectful and more obedient to parents; most schools teach children to be well behaved and every child should be given such opportunity.
Also i believe the act "No Child Left Behind" is like a barrier to most students especially those children from a wealthy background who is being left out because of their parents financial status, however this country needs an educational reform that will advance the progress of every student at the earliest possible time of their life,not the reform that will strict some set of students.
Children should not be denied access to early education because of the status of their parents, however every child should be carried through school in order to secure their future; they should not be blame for their parent financial status. The Texas government should work towards that and ensure that all children are treated equally in terms of education and not through monitoring of their parents financial qualification.
Adela Moreno recently wrote a post about her concerns for early start education in Texas. She provided personal experience and thoughtful insight into the problem of early start education and the unequality that exists in Texas. She explained that low income children are often eligible for early start education to help them through the system, and how research shows success in these programs.
I agree with the idea that early start education helps those who participate in it, and I also agree that it should be more available to anyone who wants it. I started Pre-K at age 3, giving me 2 years of schooling before actual grade school and I contribute part of my scholastic success to that. I believe that the sooner a child is involved in active learning and education, the child will establish good habits of learning and storing information.
Thank you for your insightful post, Adela!
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