Who is The Child Left Behind?

The child left behind isn’t always obvious. In this busy “hurry-up” world, many parents may not notice the sometimes subtle signs of educational neglect and testing abuses. The obviously educationally deprived children have been well documented. They are the ones represented in the eight demographic categories of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in that laws attempt to bring attention and resources to those groups to correct their education deficit. But in this plan, have we stopped to observe the classrooms we have created, to assess what is now happening and ask ourselves, who is the child left behind and why should I care?

History of other countries, our own country’s experiences, research, and common sense all tell us that “well-educated” people are better able to resist the oppression of tyrants, they live longer healthier lives, and they are less likely to be incarcerated or require long term social services. We have witnessed what happens when a society of people lose their ability to critically evaluate fact and are intentionally bombarded with mass messaging. From our recent actions, we obviously believe health care is an issue. We all have heard at one time or another that we throw more people in jail on a per capita basis that most other “free” societies. I think it would be fair to say that a large segment of the public complains about “welfare moms.” And by the words we speak and write we do seem to vaguely understand the relationship of education to other issues we consider important. Yet on the subject of our education system, we fail to make our voices heard when we should.

The public comment period to the House Education Committee for the re-writing of No Child Left Behind came and went with hardly a peep from the people. The silence of inaction by the general public speaks volumes. It tells “the powers that be” that they may do with this law as they will. It says what they decide is fine with us. Does it also indicate we trust the same people that were all part of creating and instituting this law to now “fix it” without our input? Through our silence, we have agreed to let them use the statistics they have gathered to decide the fate of children across this country. They are picking the winners and losers. What if your child isn’t “statistically significant” in their assessment?

The child left behind is the child that falls through the cracks in our current system. And with the occurring economic decline translating to budget cuts for education in most states, and on many levels, those cracks are getting wider. Today or in the future, there is a very good chance the child left behind is in some way related to you.

As a society, we have failed to provide safety nets for children in far too many instances. And in addition to asking who we are leaving behind, we have to ask, “Why?” We cannot remedy a problem when we won’t face the causes and yes, there are many. But none of them are so huge and impossible that they defy our understanding. None of them are so costly that we can’t afford to fix them. We have reached the point where we can’t afford not to be successful in fixing them.

A Sunday Parade magazine survey recently demonstrated what I thought I had been observing during the many years in which I practiced veterinary medicine. Their findings uncovered the fact that given a million dollars to spend, people put spending on the welfare of animals above spending on our children’s education. I fully understand the importance of animals in our lives in multiple ways. I say this not to take away from the issue of humane treatment of animals; I swore an oath to practice towards that end. But I have grown to believe that children deserve the same level of respect and consideration as our feathered and furry friends. I feel we owe just as much allegiance to this country’s children. As a country, we must rethink our spending priorities. If you do not think in those terms, consider this, the child left behind may not be who you think it is.

It could be a white, middle-class, English speaking child with mild undetected learning differences. If this child is also quiet and well-behaved the possibility of falling through the crack, that has taken down many a kid cursed with being “nice” and “average,” is very real. This is the child that will be “statistically insignificant” and this crack is widened by larger class sizes, less individual attention, and the quest for the right test scores.

That is a fact. It isn’t stated to downplay the dire need to address the children on whom the original Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) planned to focus our federal resources. That law meant to supply federal funds specifically targeted at educating our impoverished children (too many of who have skin of a different color) and designated those funds for school improvement to concentrate on four areas: teacher development, instructional materials, support programs resources, and parental involvement promotion. We thought these four areas would provide “a hand up” for the children of our welfare mothers and assist in breaking the chains of poverty. Children still are left waiting for us to attend to those education needs. The question is “how”?

The ESEA, carrying the label NCLB, now has its aim set at narrowing the achievement gap. Narrowing the achievement gap is a standards and testing across-the-board attempt to give us the “right” numbers. The result has been more funds spent on standards development, tests, and data collection leaving less money for individual educational needs. It is only through addressing those individual needs that we will offer access to quality education for all children, in other words, offer equal educational opportunity which truly means leaving no child behind.

Offering equal opportunity is a promise of America. Fulfilling that promise is the right thing to do and now is the right time to do it. The re-writing of NCLB has provided that opportunity to this generation to make good on the promise for the next. This country has never offered equality of access to quality education, NEVER. We know all we need to know to make that promise a reality. It isn’t too late to call or write your own representative and ask that we go back to the four areas of school improvement as our focus.

Today, there are questions we must answer; is leaving no child behind our goal in education? If not, who gets to choose which child gets left behind?

Biography

Victoria M. Young is the author of Education’s Missing Ingredient: What Parents Can Tell Educators. She presents her view based on experiences as a parent of two in the K-12 public education system during the implementation of NCLB and draws on her research of various education issues plus the lessons provided as a veterinary general practitioner for 22 years.