Search
Contact Nancy
Stay Informed
Congress On Your Corner
Photo Gallery
Where's Nancy
Veterans History Project
Fram Nancy's Desk
|
Casework Corner - Town Hall on No Child Left Behind
10/17/07By Amanda Cott
Legislative Assistant
As a staff member in Rep. Boyda’s Washington D.C. office, it’s always helpful to hear directly from Kansans about legislation. Most of the time, I talk to people in Kansas over the phone or by e-mail, but earlier this week I had the chance to accompany Rep. Boyda to a town hall on the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) held in my hometown of Topeka and at my alma mater, Topeka High School (THS).
We got to hear directly from teachers and school administrators about some of the challenges they face in implementing NCLB and what changes in the law they’d like to see when it’s reauthorized. We hear a lot about the low salaries that teachers receive, but no one brought that up. Instead, we heard an honest and selfless concern for students’ intellectual and social development. Teachers worry that the emphasis on reading and math means that students don’t get to spend enough time learning other important subjects like history, art, and science. They are concerned that students with disabilities are being left behind by being tested and taught according to Federal regulations, and not based on the individual education plan developed by those who know them best. They fear that the importance placed on the scores of standardized tests stifles students’ creativity – that they’re taught to be test takers, and not how to apply their education.
The comments of one THS teacher really hit home with me. He explained that as he saw it, students won’t remember what score they got on a test, what they’ll remember are the experiences. As I looked around the auditorium, I realized he had it right. What I recall, more than my grades, are the chances I had to put what I learned to practical use. In fact, some of the best experiences had come in the very auditorium we were in. I’d applied civics knowledge by running for student government, practiced forensics and music in the first-rate productions that THS puts on, and used design and technical skills by helping build the sets for those performances.
That night, teachers asked Rep. Boyda to make sure that laws let them do their job and “teach to the whole child.” I am grateful to them for helping crystallize what this means. Back in Washington, we’ll take the comments of the teachers and administrators who joined us to the House Committee on Education and Labor. We’ll also use what we learned to help us make the best policy decisions we can.
As Rep. Boyda is fond of saying, democracy isn’t a spectator sport, it’s a contact sport. I’d encourage anyone with thoughts on NCLB to make their voice heard by writing to or emailing Rep. Boyda. We’ll do our best here to make sure that we keep you a part of the process.
Legislative Assistant
As a staff member in Rep. Boyda’s Washington D.C. office, it’s always helpful to hear directly from Kansans about legislation. Most of the time, I talk to people in Kansas over the phone or by e-mail, but earlier this week I had the chance to accompany Rep. Boyda to a town hall on the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) held in my hometown of Topeka and at my alma mater, Topeka High School (THS).
We got to hear directly from teachers and school administrators about some of the challenges they face in implementing NCLB and what changes in the law they’d like to see when it’s reauthorized. We hear a lot about the low salaries that teachers receive, but no one brought that up. Instead, we heard an honest and selfless concern for students’ intellectual and social development. Teachers worry that the emphasis on reading and math means that students don’t get to spend enough time learning other important subjects like history, art, and science. They are concerned that students with disabilities are being left behind by being tested and taught according to Federal regulations, and not based on the individual education plan developed by those who know them best. They fear that the importance placed on the scores of standardized tests stifles students’ creativity – that they’re taught to be test takers, and not how to apply their education.
The comments of one THS teacher really hit home with me. He explained that as he saw it, students won’t remember what score they got on a test, what they’ll remember are the experiences. As I looked around the auditorium, I realized he had it right. What I recall, more than my grades, are the chances I had to put what I learned to practical use. In fact, some of the best experiences had come in the very auditorium we were in. I’d applied civics knowledge by running for student government, practiced forensics and music in the first-rate productions that THS puts on, and used design and technical skills by helping build the sets for those performances.
That night, teachers asked Rep. Boyda to make sure that laws let them do their job and “teach to the whole child.” I am grateful to them for helping crystallize what this means. Back in Washington, we’ll take the comments of the teachers and administrators who joined us to the House Committee on Education and Labor. We’ll also use what we learned to help us make the best policy decisions we can.
As Rep. Boyda is fond of saying, democracy isn’t a spectator sport, it’s a contact sport. I’d encourage anyone with thoughts on NCLB to make their voice heard by writing to or emailing Rep. Boyda. We’ll do our best here to make sure that we keep you a part of the process.