The law No Child Left Behind is an impossible law in that it is impossible to have 100% of the students achieve at 100%.  Also there is no funding so teachers are the ones left behind as it currently exists.  I work with schools that are in "need of improvement" in terms of NCLB, but it NEEDS to be properly funded and supported at all levels of the government.

john mcCain dug his own grave tonight, he appeared frantic and desperate

McCain threw kids under the bus too!!!
He has no record in education and healthcare...
http://www.votesmart.org/issue_keyvote_detail.php?cs_id=V2801&can_id=53270

http://www.votesmart.org/issue_keyvote_detail.php?cs_id=14622&can_id=53270

Kids our most valued asset..

We need Obama/Biden even more now

What McCain means is that it was the first time it was looked at from the "appropriate" ideological perspective.

Oh!  Sen McCain, where's your patriotism tonight? No Flag pin????  OOOPS!!!

I was outraged at McCains plan for education. He mentioned how he wasn't going to "throw money" at a problem that has been failing. Well, it's going to fail when you continue to reduce its funding, force students to take exams and not allow for disabilities or ESL students, plus, expect high scores all the time.
NCLB is a FAILURE. The schools need more money if they ever are to actually improve the academics of our public schools. Vouchers don't fix the problem, they just avoid it.
And, Im pretty sure it is NOT the teachers that are "bad" and need to be thrown out; if schools had MORE FUNDING they would have higher scores. Oh yea, plus more funding for ESL programs. When you cant read and write english, you can't perform at grade level. Immigrant kids are allowed to attend public school. How many of them do you think have proficient use of English? Hint, not as many as you may think.
Obama mentioned how schools need more funding. McCain said he wouldn't till the problem got better. It cant get better WITHOUT FUNDING.

John McCain said the stupidest thing I think I've ever heard.  Somehow he thinks its a good idea to allow servicemen to go straight into the field of education once their enlistment is over... exempting them from the requirement to get a degree or be certified.

Now I have nothing against our servicemen, but how does being in the military qualify you to be a teacher?  My girlfriend just finished her education to become a teacher and I can tell you from first hand observation... this is a SCIENCE.  There is a LOT of knowledge, theory, and technique to teaching!
It also requires a special kind of person to undertake and be successful.

NOT EVERYONE CAN DO IT.  Two seconds ago McCain was talking about sending bad teachers into different lines of work...  John, you'll be sending a good deal of former servicement into different lines of work if you dont require them to be educated or certified...  You know why?  Because they WILL be BAD teachers.

What you just said was by far the STUPIDEST thing I've ever heard.  Your own logic defies you.

You have the wrong ideas on education and it is one of the most important issues facing the american people.

Energy, Economy, Environment, and Education are all interdependent issues.  If you fix energy you fix the environment and the economy.  If you fix education you fix the economy and can fix the energy crisis.

You can't be wrong on the issue of education John!  You just can't.  Unfortunately for you (and for us if you are elected) you are way off base.  You are dead wrong!

Both of which were successes, unlike "No Child Left Behind," which is punishing good schools with high standards while doing nothing for any others.

No Child Left Behind is a colossal failure. Teachers are teaching for the test, not for a student's knowledge base but for what will be on the test. School districts spend thousands of dollars for tests, etc to measure students' progress, while 10% of those students are making dogs or other cartoon figures on their answer sheets by coloring in the bubbles and another 5-8% are making random answers just to finish the test. Additionally, special ed students are required to take these tests as well. Special ed student scores' are included with the rest of the students' scores, which often causes a district to receive a substandard score. Special ed students should meet the goals of their IEPs {individualized educational plans} and should be excluded from these group achievement tests. Special ed students are given individual achievement tests during their triennial {every 3 years} evaluations. Their progress can be monitored more effectually through this process than taking group achievement tests.

Sen. McCain stated in reference to education that this is a "Civil Rights issue". So does this mean it's a minority, poor, underprivileged maybe "black issue"? I didn't understand his purpose for the reference.

Did I hear McCain say he would let Military folks go directly into teaching without having to test. I understand special privilege, BUT DOGGAM!!!

UnnUUnnn! We can't have that. Teachers have to know their subject matter. Simply teaching as a job wont suffice...

WTF?!?!?!

When did McCain ask a Teacher or even Teach children who need extra help? Open your Eyes!! The program was designed for childern to learn earlier. Everyone was not born to a proper rich family. Childern should be able to have what he has, which came from a good education. How can anyone get ahead if we leave children to teach themselves? This is George Bushes Plan to cut funds instead of providing enough teacher to student ratio. Look at Dallas,Texas.. Shame,Shame who is to Blame!!

One other thing McCain said on education that I really did not get and that was how he stated he would like to let military personnel who return from duty go right into the field of education without having to take some of the testing requirements needed to teach!!! HUH??

Oh that's a real good idea McCain. Take someone right out of the military with no training on education and slap them in a classroom with the children of America! Why not do away with the education major in institutions of higher education all together!!

That, I thought, was one of the dumbest points of view I've heard from McCain yet.

In the education portion, they both spoke of "helping poor teachers get a different job" Yet, John McCain said that we should put returning veterans who have served in Iraq into the classroom, allowing them to bypass accreditation standards and proper educational certification. Why does he think that military service automatically qualifies a veteren as a good educator?

Once again John exagerates the truth.

Any educator who considers voting for McCain, needs to stop and think.

Enough said.

This is just typical McCain- not knowing the facts before he starts talking- Did anyone also catch the rest of his education talk- that we should just have military and other folk teach without certification????- Please don't let McCain win for the future of our kids!

And let's just be clear. NCLB is really another re-authorization of the 1965 ESEA. There have been a number of other re-authorizations over the past 30+ years.

What about McCain's comment that veterans should be fast-tracked into teaching jobs without having to pass state exams or be certified? Is he seriously suggesting that military service automatically qualifies a person to be a teacher? This does not seem like a good way to improve the quality of teachers in this country. If we are going to improve the state of our educational system, teachers need to be more qualified, not less.

Both of these citations are correct; don't forget about the major attempt at school reform just after Sputnik in 1957.  

McCain doesn't give a darn about education for every child.  He and his children were born with a silver spoon in their mouths.  
Barack and Michelle Obama had to fight for an education and take out loans to be able to afford a college education for themselves.  Obviously, Barack and Michelle appreciate the struggle to achieve the education that alot of rich people take for granted!

We are the greatest country in the world, we should be able to do better by our own children!!

BARACK OBAMA/JOE BIDEN = TO FIGHT FOR US!!!

Did I miss something or did McCain say he going to allow untrained returning soldiers to teach without credentials?  

Education of the our population is key to our futures. I agree with Mr Obama. I know an Air National Guard reserve member that is a second elementary school teacher and is selling his Plasma and doing his duty to make ends meet. He is buying a small home, one child with a stay at home mom. Sounds kind of like the family I was raised in with these differences. There were five family members and Dad didn't have to sell body fluids to meet cost of living expenses. I think what we pay teachers is pathetic. I have been taking college courses for 3 plus years now and am not positively impressed with most of my instructors or the instruction I have received, generally speaking. If you do find a good teacher, they really stand out. This shouldn't be. The wise men and women of our society must be enticed to teach and stay and elevate the standards of education. To attract these types of people, you have to pay competitive wages. It's common to find people today that don't know subjects that were once thought to be general knowledge. At today's wages and I hear this all the time, "Who in their right mind would want to be a teacher." I'd like to add that my wife has been teaching for 29 years and believe me she wouldn't do it again.

I am more scared of the "Troops to teachers" mess JMC was talking about.  Troops would be the best teachers but would not have to be certified or required to take a test to teach.  That is the craziest thing I have ever heard.  I want my children in a classroom with the MOST educated and qualified teacher.....not some "troop" that came back and is now going to be a teacher.

Obama is right-you can't do "no child left  
behind" without funding.  McCain in every
step has voted down and education funding to
improve schools, teacher salaries and programs.
I know-Because I am a mother of two young
children and one needed extra time on a subject
but because we had no funding-she couldn't get the
extra help.  We had to help and her determination
got her through her difficult time.  What a farse
this is McCains support for Middle class support.  Education has never been a concern for him.  He preferred to put more money in the war-

Obama is right-you can't do "no child left  
behind" without funding.  McCain in every
step has voted down any education funding to
improve schools, teacher salaries and programs.
I know-Because I am a mother of two young
children and one needed extra time on a subject
but because we had no funding-she couldn't get the
extra help.  We had to help and her determination
got her through her difficult time.  What a farse
this is McCains support for Middle class support.  Education has never been a concern for him.  He preferred to put more money in the war-

This just goes to show how little McCain knows about education. Even if he gives out more vouchers there are only so many spots in good schools to accommodate all the students. Schools nation wide have to reformed and have to better equipped. Teachers should also get paid more so that they can have increased job satisfaction and they can teach our children better. John McCain hasn't even made a serious proposal on funding special education programs.

Splitting hairs--who cares.....

I'm not an educator, but something sure caught my ear tonight.  And, that is, John McCain advocates having military personnel returning from Iran or Iraq become teachers in the classroom with any of those course.

This is an insult to children who deserve well trained teachers in the classroom with the academic qualifications to teach.

This is madness!

This is not meant as a slight to the military & their service to the country, BUT.  Allow service members to train for the profession & pay for their education.

if no child is to be left behind why are schools falling behind and in need of so much.  isn't children schooling more imortant than taking money away from them and seeing them dropout from school and being hoodlums and killing someone they do not know or do know??  schooling is so imortant and college also. But we need the teachers who are great and can teach them and inspire them.

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