Quite right. There are schools in New Hampshire that are essentially doing away with AP classes because of NCLB. Some Illinois schools are doing away with letter grades in favor of words like “emerging”, “developing”, “exceed”, and “modify”; the last one meaning the curriculum needs to be modified so students can pass.
Well, the title was pitting NCLB, an act made by the current president and which had nothing to do with the OP, teachers’ assertions to the contrary.
Re: dodgeball - we can see arguments against it here, and here. Here’s one of the few balanced pages.This is the list of other games in the “PE Hall of Shame”, though the actual article is not on the Net.
From the second link: the best argument he can come up with is the rather hysterical
tdn --are you married? I am , but I still want to be your girlfriend! ITA.
Spelling bees are an avenue for kids who may not shine in the classroom or in gym, but also need a place to show their stuff. Those who suck in spelling also learn lessons. All concerned learn a bit about language etc. I speak as a 3rd place speller in 3rd grade. I rested on that laurel for awhile, let me tell you! Schools need things like spelling bees, class contests, boys vs girls stuff–it helps kids learn about competition and social relations–a huge part of schooling.
While I loathe NCLB and think it’s party hackery rather than an attempt to actually help those kids and schools who need it most, IMO, this SD just placed the blame there. It really doesn’t have much to do with NCLB.
It a sad day when the school admin will not extend itself to such a small thing as a spelling bee for the kids.
As for dodgeball–I was average. Since most states don’t even require PE anymore, I guess I would come down in favor of dodgeball–strictly for the exercise. There are much better games to play, and kids did get bullied and hurt with dodgeball. But better that, than no recess/gym at all…
If you are referring to the practice of promoting people to higher grades when they fail, then we have a fundamental point of disagreement. More to the point, I’ve got dollars to bet that the kids who are failing under the NCLB aren’t the one’s getting inspirational teachers. And they are the ones whose natural curiosity is being destroyed.
Things is, I don’t see anything in the NCLB provisions that would cause them to do that. It sounds essentially like an excuse to me. I can’t see any logical reason the law would cause these actions.
Thank god someone finally got rid of dodgeball. Is there really an excuse for a game that lets children single out another child and then throw things at them? In my school it functioned as a school sanctioned chance for the popular kids to try to hurt the geeks. Dodgeball causes a lot more than bruised feelings.
I wonder what these imbeciles will do when they discover that half the children in Rhode Island have below average reading skills!
Dropping classes for advanced students is a side effect. Under NCLB, they no longer have the time to divide the studends according to ability so now they just teach everyone a standard curriculum.
Me not understand you. Me not good at algebra. Me only add with one potato, two potatoe.
That’s my understanding as well. It’s about alotting limited resources. If it’s not necessary to keep you in compliance of NCLB, then it’s gone. GT programs, AP classes, art/music appreciation…pretty much all of the ‘fun’ stuff schools can offer.
Also, I’m another person happy that dodgeball has been relegated to the dustbin of childhood history. Even the with the most objective description, it still reads like a game designed by a sadist.
Steal the bacon is on his Hall of Shame? Huh? You just line up, the instructor calls a number (or numbers), and you try to grab the “bacon” and make it back to your side before you get tagged. Where’s the targetting?
What kind of balls did everyone else use? We just had these ancient soft squishy foam balls-not foam rubber, but the kind of foam that’s in pillows.
The problem with NCLB is that they don’t care WHY some students are left behind-there are no provisions or programs for students with disabilities. No way to deal with those who are disadvantaged, those who are poor. You have to include the kids in special ed-and they take the SAME TEST AS EVERYONE ELSE.
This obviously isn’t really over NCLB, as there’s no provision for anything like this.
NCLB, however, is one of the worst top-down policies ever to be forced upon teachers. Moreoever, it was based on the ‘Houston Miracle’, an exercise in fraud and deception.
The sooner we let teachers do their jobs, and fund their schools properly, the sooner we’ll see students getting taught well. Teaching-to-the-test gives us a country of test-takers who really can’t do much else.
Ding! We have a winner! They hate NCLB are are using the spelling bee as a ploy to attack it. We all know NCLB says nothing about spelling bees, and does not suggest preventing excellence so kids don’t feel “left behind.”
Nonsensical logic, just an attempt to blame this on NCLB.
We used overinflated red rubber balls- the kind that leave a nifty red three rowed basketweave pattern on your face when you get nailed with one.
Ouch. I don’t think we ever used those for dodge ball.
Pansies. We used balls made of rubberized iron. The crunch of broken bone signified a good hit. And we liked it! 
Balls? You had balls? We made the smaller kids curl up in the fetal position, then we’d get the bigger kids to heave them.
[sub]I still have nightmares about being flung about the room.[/sub]
I haven’t seen this anywhere around here. Can you explain more? (I know, reasoned explanation is practical illegal in the Pit, but still…) From what I’ve seen of the NCLB requirements, no halfway-decent school (not good, mind you, but halfway decent) should have any trouble meeting the reqs.
I like the idea of the NCLB just so I can finally get some decent comparison data. Which is why a lot of parent groups want it.
Amen. I wasn’t even aware that No Child Left Untested had anything to do with this spelling bee abolishment bullshit.
My generation survived dodgeball, spelling bees, salutatorians, and valedictorians with no ill effects that I can discern.
I hate to get into the dodgeball fight, but I loved it, despite being generally nonathletic. I was pretty good at dodgeball. my aim was awful, but I was very good at dodging. And it so amazingly fun to see the self-involved athletic kids taken out by a good catch by me. My favorite trick was to dodge the whole game. I would get nearly up on the line and dodge my way back and forth, attracting fire while making them waste shots.