There was an interview with former President George W. Bush about No Child Left Behind. A discerning reader might decide to vote for Ron Paul instead:
Here was part of the answer to the question about the effectiveness of NCLB:
First of all, I am extremely proud of the effects of No Child Left Behind. For the first time, the federal government basically demanded results in return for money.
The President has to take the lead and say, Wait a minute, No Child Left Behind has worked. Let’s not weaken it. And he has to find leaders in both parties to be willing to step up and make the change. That’s why [Democrats] Ted Kennedy and George Miller were very effective. We didn’t agree on the funding formulas and certain issues, but we did agree on the basics. And that is, you cannot expect excellence unless you measure.
HSLDA does have a reputation for silencing the opposition, relying on a well-organized membership network to make its demands known. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., found that out when introducing a measure in 1994 that would require that teachers be certified in the subjects they teach. Home-school groups were satisfied that the measure would not apply to home-schoolers and advised HSLDA not to pursue it, but HSLDA leaders sent out instructions to oppose the bill on the grounds that it might be interpreted to mean that home-schooling parents need to be certified as well.
The call to action brought a barrage of phone calls and faxes that shut down Capitol Hill phone lines for days. The vote was 435-1 against the certification proposal. Not one representative other than Miller wanted to risk the wrath of HSLDA, illustrating an intimidation factor that critics say further allows HSLDA to dominate on the issue of home schooling in state and national forums.
In some circles, punching No Child Left Behind is a way to basically say, I’m against Big Government. In fact, No Child Left Behind is a way to promote efficient government. In a lot of these debates, you don’t hear real detail or analysis about how to improve the law. In essence, it’s No Child Left Behind is big government. Well, No Child Left Behind basically says, If you’re going to fund [schools], like we’ve been doing for years, we in the federal government ought to demand accountability, which seems to me a very conservative principle. Yet some conservatives are saying No Child Left Behind is an improper role for federal government. In that case, it’s more philosophy than actual analysis of how No Child Left Behind works and its effectiveness.
About Elwood Sanders
Elwood "Sandy" Sanders is a Hanover attorney who is an Appellate Procedure Consultant for Lantagne Legal Printing and has written ten scholarly legal articles. Sandy was also Virginia's first Appellate Defender and also helped bring curling in VA! (None of these titles imply any endorsement of Sanders’ views)
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