A Reno teacher wrote a letter to the editor of the Las Vegas Sun about the budget cuts in Nevada’s education system. She makes valid points which should be in the minds of all Nevadans. Here is what she wrote:
Education in Nevada is a sad state of affairs
Megan Gonzalez, Reno
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 | 2:02 a.m.
As a Nevada teacher, I’m appalled by the recent multimillion-dollar cuts in education. Nevada ranks at the bottom in education funding, and now schools have taken a massive hit to their undersized budgets as the school districts must stretch to accommodate the vast student population.
Additionally, extreme focus on test scores has only intensified. Rather than educate, teachers are commanded by No Child Left Behind to get students to pass a state exam.
As the economy declines, parents lose their jobs, cars and homes, and students are distracted by their lives outside of school. Student achievement in socioeconomically depressed areas is often disproportionate to student achievement in more affluent areas.
Despite those circumstances, teachers are still compelled to move students toward passing a test, a test that is a minuscule, vague snapshot of a student’s capabilities. Teaching to a test leaves little room for creativity, imagination or “real world” application of skills.
The decreased funding directly contradicts the increased demands on Nevada teachers and students. If teachers are truly expected to educate instead of prepare for testing, funding for Nevada’s students must be increased, and demands for hitting an abstract bench mark must be reexamined.
[Source: Las Vegas Sun]
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This article was extremely interesting, especially since I searching for thoughts on this subject last This.
Glad you found the article interesting Acid. So did I–thus the reason I posted it.
.-= Featheriver´s last blog ..Nye County’s Negative Publicity =-.
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