No child left behind... an alternative solution???

Ok...crazy solutions....as this one goes, I might just take the cake!

1. Stop judging progress by the AGE of the child in question.

2. Fire all teachers who don't LOVE to teach while looking for new ways to teach kids who have trouble.

3. Make "homework" obsolete - have kids do subjects on the computer and have the computer put out a "progress report" on what the student IS and ISN'T getting which is then tailored every couple of days to focus on the things kids have problems with instead of what they already know being repeated 20 times a day. Yes, this means giving harder problems if a kid passes the current "age level" requirements, and it will free the teacher up to work with kids who are having trouble with milestones and need extra help.

4. Put exercise and fine arts back INTO the schools - studies show that exercise and the arts can help raise kids intelligence.

5. Re-vamp the graduation requirements so that kids leave knowing not only about the core subjects, but ALSO about what they need to know to survive in the REAL world (i.e. that a debit card isn't "free money", how to keep a budget, and how to find a job you LOVE).

6. Work with cable TV shows so that TV is tailored to HELP kids even before they get into school - leaving the "fun" shows for after "dinner" time. This will help kids learn MORE so they'll be further ahead by the time they reach school age.

Couple of things to add to the mix here. American kids are not taught much geography. We Do NOT learn how to:

fill out health care forms

get health coverage

balance a checkbook

fill out a job application

handle a job interview

write a resume

unclog a drain

buying a car

selling a car

change a flat tire

the meaning of establishing good credit

credit cards and debit cards work

what finance charges, APR's, late fees are applied to

plan a trip

make any kind of reservations whether its dinner or airfare

what a Keogh or 401 K is

understand a lease agreement for apartment or car

decipher auto repair bills

importance of exhibiting manners

significance of speaking gramatically correct

In short, we get cheated and embarrassed because of this lack of knowledge and get frustrated.

Instead we learn how to find the hypotenuse of a triangle and memorize various formulas we will never need and a hundred different historical dates which become meaningless.

I averaged 1-2 hours of homework throughout high school I wish I had had classroom time instead. What homework essentially means is you are told how to do something and it's THEN up to you to read it and teach yourself.

Some kids can't and never will.

Elective subjects should include:

Geometry, Trigonometry, Algebra, Calculus, Physics, Poetry...let students opt NOT to take them. They will not improve life of the masses and are a waste of time for most.

Mandatory subjects should include:

at least a year of business math

a year consumer math & banking

how to protect against identity theft

auto care and repair (that can be understood by girls or those who only need basics not engine repair)

a year on employment and how to obtain it

Forms & records and what documents to store in home files

Up and coming would be the need for all of us to have the ability to assess the information on the internet is accurate. We need classes to be able to extract facts from fiction in all areas.

Oh and yes scrap homework in favor of staying that amount of time in school where these 9 month a year teachers can supervise our studies so we can actually have someone around to ask questions instead of asking our parents who don't know what was covered in class.

The undesirable information is all of us will would desire to get used to extreme gasoline fees. Even now has the fee of crude oil is dropping severely the oil companies are no longer passing on the cuts to pump fees. there is not any hassle-free rapid answer to the priority the two , gasoline diesel and all different petrochemicals and countless plastics come from a finite source (crude oil) that's working out at an alarming fee. the international is virtually at a element the place all recoverable components of oil have been discovered (peek oil) and are being exploited to fulfill call for. purely whilst hydrogen gasoline cellular technologies will become low-priced and hassle-free to apply will the strangle carry of petroleum be broken. till then its lower back to buses trains bycles

No child left behind? I give you 2 solid months of NO LEARNING compliments of mandatory summer vacation.

Be proud, America, your kids' brains have over 60 days to turn into mashed potatoes on an annual basis.

How about having schools that are not run by unions, by the government, but how about schools run by people, not institutions.

I do not want my children taught by government run schools, and you should not either.

Tax dollars should be returned to the parents in the form of vouchers that they can use to send their children where they want. Public schools would have to get better to get those vouchers.

Water boarding for those who fail .

Its not even considered in humane By Mr.Bush I have trouble calling him our president .