Moments in Time

Dr. George Lord works with Partners in Public Education. He holds the position of being the Director of Research, Assessment, and Program Development. He has written publications and co-authored a few on school leadership, school achievement, parental involvement, and mayoral led school systems. During the spring break, I had the privilege to have a one-on-one interview with him. I just am lost at putting the interview together, so I may have to contact him again.

He came to speak to Wendy's classes this morning. I really enjoyed hearing him speak and talk about the No Child Left Behind Act. From reading publications related to education, hearing from people who work in the field, and the media, this act is an very important issue. The NCLB is so broad that it can not be narrowed down to common terms. Each year PIPE sends out a community report card for parents to those who have children in the school system. Within all this information, it gives you important information on every school in the district. You can see what school has a percent of highly qualified teacher. You can also see the scores of each school and if they have increased or decreased.

To better understand the process of AYP and have different schools are on the lists the state provides, you must know the definitions or the steps to define if a school is passing or below the average. You can find all of this in the community report card for parents. Everything that was said during the speaking this morning will help me with my paper on the education system and how we can make it better. You should read Open to the Public: Speaking Out On "No Child Left Behind" if you want to see how students, parents, and teachers are feeling about NCLB in Tennessee and Memphis City Schools.

While Dr. George Lord was speaking I jotted down some of things that grabbed my attention.

• There is nothing in the Constitution about education
• Trillions of dollars is spent on K-12 education --> this includes federal, state, and local funding
• Tennessee State Board of Education --> serves as a guide to local school board
• Students are engaged in their own education driven by the grade rather than the desire to what to learn
• The No Child Left Behind Act is the modern version of the Elementary and Secondary Act
• Education is getting blamed for everything that is happening around the city
• Information is data which equals the process of people understanding what is presented to them
• NCLB make schools either pass or fail
• NCLB gives you the choice of whether you want your child to stay at a below average school or keep them there
• Society does not value education or knowledge as other counties
• There are tests that allows us to see where we are ranked among other countries

I've read a few articles about different teachers in New York and their success in using different methods and strategies to teach their students. During my research there are articles that really touched me and should be read by everyone to be encouraged to DO something to help our schools in Memphis.

As an English major attending the University of Memphis to become a teacher, I am on a mission to make our education system better that will allow teachers to want to teach students to make them productive and successful citizens.

Dr. Lord provided me with a better perspective on the No Child Left Behind Act. I think everyone should get a full understanding of it if they do not know anything about it. Though math and reading skills are important, we should focus on our students getting a well-rounded education.