… Hypocrisy in the classroom!

All you have to do is watch the local news for ten minutes to get a vibe of the hypocrisy in American politics. I have been a teacher in Orange County for fifteen years and have often felt the world outside of the classroom has little real effect on the one inside of the classroom. Recent events have changed that perspective.

Under the watchful hands of the Bush brothers, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) forced states wishing to suckle from the teat of the federal budget to implement a series of standardized tests to assess the performance of school age children and compare those assessments to the children of other states fighting for that same federal money. As is with many government ideas (see Title IX or Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell), NCLB was intended to increase student test scores and thus academic performance. In reality it has caused schools, teachers and students alike gi-normous levels of anxiety and little educational benefits. Yes, test scores did increase for some kids (visit socio-economic status as compared to FCAT performance) but at the expense of student speakers of other languages, students with exceptional educational needs and students of poverty.

Before I go on let me clarify one thing. FCAT performance and thus school grades are judged on one level for elementary and middle schools and a completely different and much more difficult level, for high schools. Where one could see vast levels of success for students in all academic levels and socio-economic status for kindergarten thru eighth graders, those same kids would and do not reach the required FCAT score needed to meet graduation requirements. And as of 2010, high schools have to follow a new and more detailed set of rules to achieve the school grade we all feel the pressure to reach.

This background information is wonderful in understanding the situation but does not address the reason I write to you. I write to point out the continuous actions of our elected officials to stress the importance of education in speeches while doing little to implement educational reform while serving in office. “More Education” or “Free Education” gets votes! Doing little to help education saves money. And here lies the hypocrisy … Politicians will often say what they have to in order to earn your vote but do little in office to keep your vote. They know that Americans pay little attention to government between elections. As long as they say what you want to hear at each election they will continue to earn your vote and will continue to implement hypocritical leadership.

Now my mama always taught me to never complain without offering a solution. I present to you today the same thing I have told my students for fifteen years. Be an active resident of Florida and the United States. No matter your residential status, your education or your socio-economic status, know the facts and participate. Don’t accept everything you hear as fact (see Limbaugh or Beck clones). Instead do a little research from different sources (both inside and out of the United States). Once you have that knowledge … Contact your elected leaders and let them know how you feel. Call them, e-mail them, write them or even visit their offices. Share your opinion on any and everything. Don’t accept anything but the best from them. Make them earn your vote and then earn your continued support. Don’t allow hypocrisy!