Why Do We Inflict FORCE AND FLUNK Young Children?
By dianeravitch
October 15, 2017 //19
“Nancy Bailey describes one of the worst ideas that is current in the world of corporate-style reform: Forcing little children to read at a very young age, as early as kindergarten or first grade, which turns reading into a chore, not a joy.
Then, if they have not met arbitrary standards in third grade, shaming them by holding them back.
This is a child-hostile idea that got started in Florida, where so many bad ideas have begun. It did wonders for fourth grade reading scores, because the kids with the lowest scores flunked.
But it is a truly dumb idea because it forces reading on children before they are ready and it does not make children better readers. Whether children begin to read at age 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 doesn’t matter. What matters is that they learn that reading is a wonderful skill to master and that it opens worlds of enchantment and knowledge. By the time they are 10 or 11, no one remembers when they first began to read. Little children are not global competitors. They are children.”
The worst idea in education, ever, is the Achievement Gap assessment of children.
The “achievement gap” in education refers to the disparity in academic performance between groups of students, the highest group being “white male” and all others being considered “sub groups”. The achievement gap shows up in grades, standardized-test scores, course selection, dropout rates, and college-completion rates, among other success measures.
While individuals and groups continue to fight against standardized testing, no one seems to mind that every child who is not a “white male” is forced, through assessments, to consider “white male” as their educational goal and to be normalized to this construct in thought, word, and deed.
As Ms Ravitch so eloquently stated, “They are children” unique in thoughts, expression and lifestyle.
Why then do we hold on to the archaic, supremacist, notion of standardization?
Because “white males” control the system of government which dictates our system of education in America.
Join the Movement to Save Our Children!
Education Accountability 