Congress Disrespects Teachers, Students, and Parents

It is amazing how pointed the disrespect with which teachers, students and parents are held by Congress really is...they speak out of both sides of their collective mouth. They say they want teacher comments, but they waited until August 27, 2007 to send out an 11 page draft of a bill that the House Ed Committee hopes to present to Congress shortly after Labor Day. That gives any teacher who wants to look at it about a week to read and analyze the draft summary and to write a comment.
For those who have lost touch with the real world of teachers, students and parents, this time of year is the most hectic of all. School just started, people are trying to refocus their schedules, and there is very little time to deal with any other issues.
Surely Congress didn't intend to put out a draft of the NCLB bill for teachers, knowing that most real teachers wouldn't have time to look it over? It makes you wonder how separated from reality these people in Congress really are. I can't imagine that they planned to put this draft out to the public when the people most affected by it are so busy beginning a new shool year.
Congressional leaders, can you spell, N'er Do Well? Ill timed and ill conceived management of the people's business just makes you wonder why citizen approval ratings of Congress are so low, doesn't it? LORL

clipped from www.edweek.org The leaders of the House education committee today released a draft of a plan for reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act, outlining proposals that would revise how adequate yearly progress is calculated and overhaul the interventions for schools failing to meet achievement goals. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., and Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., said that they were inviting comments from educators so that they can incorporate their ideas into the bill they hope to introduce shortly after Labor Day. Reps. Miller and McKeon wrote in a letter to “education stakeholders.” “The committee has not endorsed this staff discussion draft,” adds the Aug. 27 letter, which was also signed by Rep. Dale E. Kildee, D-Mich., and Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del., the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Education and Labor Committee's key subcommittee on K-12 education. An 11-page summary of the draft bill details many of the ideas