Bush and the No Child Left Behind Act (as submitted to Highestwire)

Submitted by Kayamone Sutton on Sunday, August 07, 2005 at 12:23:02 PM EST.

In 2002, President Bush passed the No Child Left Behind Act. Passed by both the Senate and House of Representatives, the act's goal is to help our children become more literate and educated.

The No Child Left Behind Act was designed for the purpose of ensuring that all children who are enrolled in school from kindergarten to 12th grade are properly educated and that the learning environments are equal.

But it's interesting how none of America's learning environments provide equal opportunities for students to learn.

Schools located in urban cities are generally not as "nice" as those located in areas and school districts that have lots of money flowing into them by upper middle class and upper class tax payers.
Most comparisons of schools located in wealthy towns and cities to those located within urban cities would show that urban city schools are more run-down, more dilapidated, and less appealing than schools in wealthy areas and cities.

Unfortunately, learning environments contribute a lot to the amount of education students receive. Students attending wealthy-area schools -- schools that are nicely maintained and provide interesting and engaging after-school programs and activities -- take more pride in their school and their education. They are more inclined to excel in school, putting them in a much better position to receive a higher education.

In order to obtain equalized educational environments where students across the country receive the same top-quality education, billions of dollars would need to be allocated just toward the rejuvenation and beautification of each and every school across the country that is deemed substandard.

The United States has a $400 billion budget deficit, and the Bush Administration has cut funding for education, placing priority on defense. So where will the money come from to help fund this project? It would come from our pockets, from another increase in taxes. Taxes from where? That depends on our President -- who currently would love to save those 5 percent of hard-working, back-breaking filthy righ America some money and instead choose to increase taxes for the other 95 percent, who are middle and lower class families already struggling to support their families. Another tax increase for these people would be devestating, since they are already can't afford America's rising cost of living, and cannot find jobs. It's just a shame that the money they are already giving to the federal government isn't going to help the situation or properly fund the No Child Left Behind Act with computers, teacher education, new school programs and learning tools.

The No Child Left Behind Act is a good idea, in theory; however, it is impossible to ensure that no child gets left behind. Unfortunately, there would have to be a drastic overhaul of America's educational system in order to bring in more positive results. It is commendable that school districts around the nation are changing to comply with the act, however, until America comes out of its economic deficit, a great many of America's children will undoubtedly be left behind.

Discussion about this story:

You must be logged in to join the discussion.