The No Child Left behind Act focused on the scores our children could achieve so their school systems could obtain the federal funding needed for supplies and resources and even salaries. It left a lot of educators and parents frustrated and took fundamental teaching out of education, leaving our kids at a disadvantage for their basic skills.
As part of the new focus on and reinvention of the US education system, the focus has turned from test scores to the kids actually taking the tests. Educators are now looking to educate the “Whole Child” or as stated by the American Association of School Administrators, “it’s time to get back to the basics of supporting the total child — from physical and mental health to the development of fundamental, lifelong learning skills. Only when children have support for all their needs will schools have a real chance of helping every student master required education concepts and skills.
Through the Educating the Total Child advocacy campaign, AASA members are committed to creating the conditions necessary for all students to become successful, lifelong learners. The campaign addresses three key factors that determine children’s academic achievement:
1. The devastating impact of poverty on our students
2. The lack of universal early childhood education
3. The need for organizations to work with public education to coordinate the delivery of health and child development services.”
This innovative approach to teaching is spreading quickly through the ranks of the education system including inclusion in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The hearings continue in attempts to define a concrete strategy to revamping the education system.
According the
www.edweek.com, during a hearing last week Geoffrey Canada, the president and chief executive officer of the Harlem Children’s Zone, “In communities where kids are failing in record numbers, you can’t just do one thing,” he said at the hearing. “We start with children at birth and stay with them until they graduate from college. … In the end, you have to create a series of supports that really meet all of their needs.”
The Providence Effect is a living example of these ideals. We want to help the message grow to all of the schools in the US, to truly teach our children to grow. Join us in the fight – spread the word with our DVD here.
Posted By: Paul Adams
Friday, May 7th 2010 at 8:38AM
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