Wielding, Waiving, and Granting: Education Edition
No doubt, the No Child Left Behind law enacted in 2001 under President Bush has serious problems mostly stemming from false notion that percentages of test passing students equals educational success while resting on the even more destructive false premise that government-run schools is a proper function of government, but the President's recent proposal to grant waivers to the law does one thing of note and -- make no mistake about it -- it isn't for the children:
Under the waiver program, the annual identification of schools along with the mandate for changes would come to an end for qualifying states.
While wielding the power of government favors --"The Obama administration has said states can qualify [for waivers] if they sign on to the president’s education agenda, which Massachusetts did last year when it won $250 million from President Obama’s Race to the Top fund, a competitive grant program." -- for states who comply with his politics, President Obama also gets a pass for himself and teachers unions by removing at least part of the pervasive cultural dissatisfaction that arises from the constant and notoriously negative reminders of our failing government schools; it effectively removes public schools' accountability to the public.
It certainly appears to be a win-win for his administration as government education continues to be a lose-lose for the children, the taxpayers, and the rest of the country.
Under the waiver program, the annual identification of schools along with the mandate for changes would come to an end for qualifying states.
While wielding the power of government favors --"The Obama administration has said states can qualify [for waivers] if they sign on to the president’s education agenda, which Massachusetts did last year when it won $250 million from President Obama’s Race to the Top fund, a competitive grant program." -- for states who comply with his politics, President Obama also gets a pass for himself and teachers unions by removing at least part of the pervasive cultural dissatisfaction that arises from the constant and notoriously negative reminders of our failing government schools; it effectively removes public schools' accountability to the public.
It certainly appears to be a win-win for his administration as government education continues to be a lose-lose for the children, the taxpayers, and the rest of the country.
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