Quote of the Day

Today's Quote Of the Day goes to Senator John Edwards.

While campaigning in Iowa, on the topic of President Bushes much maligned "No Child Left Behind" Program, he offered this gem.

"You don’t make a hog fatter by weighing it."

You know what, he is right. Testing may help us answer the question "Is our children learning?", unfortunately it only tells us if they "is" learning the answers to the test.

As a parent of a child that was until recently in the Florida school system, which places far to much emphasis on the FCAT program, I can assure you relying on that method is detrimental to the overall education process. Tying the school's funding to test results leads teachers and administrators to avoid any subject not directly covered on the test. Interesting topics, that teachers were previously free to explore with their students are now seen as a distraction.

According to the NYTimes, it looks like no matter who wins the upcoming presidential election, we can look forward to this program to be finally put to rest.

Maybe now we can refocus our efforts and re-fund the HeadStart programs that were slashed by this administration.