No Child Left Behind

The Obama administration is set to make a change in the educational system. The No Child Left Behind Law is a step towards improved educational reform where student attendance and participation are just as important as grades and performance. Replacing the pass/fail system is a gradual change in shaping the future leaders of tomorrow. Vigorous intervention is a must for every school that tries to enforce a positive and prestigious learning environment with minimum failing outcome. The high achievers should be rewarded for their hard work and persistence and those who fail should be urged and stimulated to excel. Every state in our nation should have an improved educational system that works and is headed towards positive change.

The administration’s proposal for reform in our school system also involves a change in the quality of staff in comparison to quantity. Qualified staff should be hired and expected to excel and be held accountable. Teachers should be evaluated and monitored on a frequent basis to ensure maximum performance.

States should be required to adopt “challenging academic standards” to be eligible to receive federal money for impoverished students. Funding should be provided for those schools that use it to maximize performance and achieve substantial learning. As President Obama stated, grants should be competitive.

Another way to maximize performance in schools is through positive reinforcement by fathers. While there are clear benefits to father involvement in children’s lives, many barriers remain. Some of the possible obstacles in the education of our children include the following:

· The attitudes and personal beliefs toward father involvement of mothers, teachers, caretakers, and child care/education program staff;

· Family and/or cultural beliefs concerning male involvement; and

· Societal expectations and views of male involvement in children’s lives related to their care and support.

It is critical to support the involvement of fathers in the lives of their children and reduce these barriers. There are resources that can assist in dismantling these barriers to responsible fatherhood at http://responsiblefatherhood.illinois.gov.

We are headed in the right direction. All we need are persistent steps “with hope” in the right direction to make that change happen.

Special thanks to the US Department of Health and Human Services for their resource material utilized in this article.