Comments on: NCLB Waivers: The Means to Another End

By: Mark Sheppard

Mark Sheppard — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:16:13 +0000

I think it is so sad that Americans have been lulled into such a dull state that they don’t or won’t see the implications of Federal imposition into education. Our very wise founding fathers expressly left education to the states. Yes there were regional differences and opinions as to what would and should be taught in schools, but the main concern was that if the central (Federal) government had control of the schools, they could control the minds of the public-really in the course of a generation. Is that what people want? How quickly we forget the lessons of history. Wur founders still had in their memories the tyranny of an oppressive government, controlling people’s lives even down to religious expression. We need each state to be able to decide how to educate their children.
And yes, you can believe there are those who would love to indoctrinate the students of America. They would love to be able to have access to the minds of the entirety of America’s youth so that they could instill THEIR worldview into them. Please wake up. Please resist federal intrusion into our schools. The best thing the US gov’t can do is to make sure small town kids have access to the same benefits and access to opportunity that big city (Spelled large tax base) students do. Otherwise, all education $ needs to stay at the state level. Think how much more $ would be available if all the money wasted to run the Dept. Of Ed. were put in the classroom. Thanks for listening.

By: Bob Luebke

Bob Luebke — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:16:51 +0000

Once again big accusation, but no facts. If you think Bush and Obama educational efforts are comparable, you fail to grasp a fundamental difference. No Child Left Behind Legislation, George Bush’s signature education legislation —which I called a mixed big of educational initiatives — was introduced in Congress, passed the House and Senate and and was signed by the President. Obama’s education efforts are in large part outside the legislative process. He’s used Race to the Top funds as a carrot to get cash-strapped states to adopt common core standards. In addition, the Department of Education is tying NCLB waivers to state’s acceptance of common core standards – and raising a host of constitutional issues in the process. None of this is done through normal legislative channels, but through the Department of Education. Obama bypasses the Congress because he lacks the legislative support to pass common core standards. If the legislation would truly benefit our schools, why do so few others think so? Local or state officials don’t believe Washington can improve schools. Forty years of evidence supports that claim. However, I guess you can’t force people to accept reality.

By: noGOPnNC

noGOPnNC — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:47:36 +0000

I find it amusing that you take Obama to task for trying to improve our schools with a common curriculum but Bush gets a pass for the most intrusive and destructive bill ever. good thing you guys don’t practice hypocrisy because it is apparent you have mastered denial.