No Child Left Behind Leaves Unintended Aftermath

No Child Left Behind legislation was created for a number of great reasons, most particularly to raise student achievement among our nation’s poorer students, as well as to help our middle and upper class students achieve at higher levels than they have in our recent past.

However, what is not broadly understood is that in order to accomplish this goal, 71% of our nation’s districts are narrowing the curriculum in elementary schools to focus primarily on those subject areas that are tested, such as reading, writing and math, to receive higher scores on state tests. This is resulting in significantly less time spent on other, less tested subjects, such as Social Studies and Science.

While I applaud the intent of No Child Left Behind, I am concerned with the implications that the resulting focus on tested subjects will have on today’s students as they become tomorrow’s adults.

For example, the role of Social Studies is to educate students in history, geography, civics and economics. History builds in us a compass that guides our understanding of the consequences of political decisions and moral dilemmas through time. While history can be told with great subjectivity, if it is taught with the goal to create students who understand the world they live in and their role in making it a better place then history can be an essential tool for developing human beings who are responsible, active citizens of our country, our cities and our individual communities.

Imagine the adults of tomorrow having no understanding or appreciation for the struggles of the men and women who founded this nation. Would they have any pride in their homeland? Would they appreciate the liberties we enjoy as Americans in a democracy? Would they actively engage in improving the U.S. through informed votes on election days or becoming active community members empowered to do what’s right? Without essential Social Studies content in our public schools, I worry about a future citizenry that does not have the background knowledge essential for making good choices for themselves and their communities.

What about Science? Imagine growing up without a formal understanding of scientific thinking or how the world of nature works. Without this awareness, much of the awe and wonder of the world will be missing in our future adults. How will they live their lives if they do not understand the consequences of how they live on the earth? What we do and how we live matters!

Wonder and awe lead to respect for nature, differences and for the miracle of life. How sad if our students don’t receive an education in science when they are young and impressionable! Yes, science is required in middle and high school, but much of the wonder and awe of the natural world is planted at a much younger age.

It is in elementary school where science can be taught in a way that includes stories and imagination, through demonstrations that inspire a respect for nature, unlike the more conceptual approaches required in high school. How sad if our students in elementary school miss this most important content in order to focus on reading, writing and math.

And yet, the aim of the No Child Left Behind concept is good. I would suggest that the solution is to teach reading, writing and math through an integrated approach. In addition to teaching the fundamentals of these subjects, they can then be integrated into rich content units in Social Studies and Science to provide meaningful applications of these fundamental skills.

A global approach such as this addresses both the need to ensure that students learn to read, write and do math, along with providing the essential background knowledge afforded by Social Studies and Science content.

Of course, it takes great teachers to accomplish this task. However, the results are worth it. By using an integrated teaching method, we will be educating tomorrow’s adults to think at high levels, feel and understand the needs of others, and do what needs to be done to improve their world. What a gift we can give to our future generations!