November 2005 • Volume 37 • Number 2 • Pages 2, 30

The Editor Reflects

Editor, Tom Erb

RevAchieving Integration out of Disintegration by Breaking Our Shackles

These are disquieting times, again. Four years ago this month, this column addressed the teachable moment brought about by the acts of terrorists on 9/11/01. That attack on America shattered our complacency about being invulnerable to attacks from abroad. Hurricane Katrina has dealt a second blow to the gut of this nation. We have been humbled by the power of nature to circumscribe human invention and activities. Beyond that, Katrina's consequences have caused us to question our social, political, and economic prowess to provide a safe, secure environment for all Americans living on our soil.

This small column cannot but begin to examine the impact of this natural and human disaster. The consequences of the awesome power of nature reach into every aspect of life. A barebones list might look like this: more than 1,000 dead, displaced persons, missing children, lost jobs, differential impact depending on race and family income, incapacitation of houses of worship, destruction of housing and neighborhoods, closed schools, disruption of the flow of goods and services nationally and internationally, loss of power to run the electronic necessities of modern life, breakdown of governmental services from basic record keeping to search and rescue operations, confused funding priorities, governmental authority to make decisions and carry them out in disarray, media coverage transformed, flood protection failed, loss of a great cultural center, courts shut down, lost family and personal memorabilia, and the disruption, if not breakdown, of numerous human services: medical care; police protection; transportation (land, water, and air); housing, trade; retailing; care of children, the elderly, and the disabled; food supply; sanitation; banking; and public utilities.

My feeble mind and limited space combine to force a premature end to this list. However, this question emerges: What area of the curriculum normally taught in the middle grades does not relate to Hurricane Katrina's laying waste to New Orleans and other environs along the Gulf Coast? What better opportunity will there ever be to unite the concerns and interests of young adolescents with the major social, political, economic, and ethical issues of modern life? So, what is keeping us from creating the ultimate relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory curricular experience for our young adolescents? Did I mention the most relevant service-learning program they could ever experience?

As if I did not know. The power of educators to respond to the boundless questions of our students is undercut by a perfect storm of barriers: overly restrictive interpretations of NCLB, inadequate budgets, and a pervasive lack of commitment to the education of young adolescents on the part of those who control the destiny of schools. These factors combine to tighten a straightjacket around middle level educators in this country, making it harder and harder to reach and teach individual learners.

Fortunately, hope may be on the way. The public and scholars alike are expressing their concerns about NCLB. Eighty percent of the public is saying that testing only in English and math cannot fairly represent a school; 82% are concerned that NCLB's emphasis on English and math will mean less emphasis on art, music, history, and other subjects (Rose & Gallup, 2005). In the opinion of one political scientist who has studied the effects of NCLB, instead of promoting achievement, NCLB has resulted in impeding learning, encouraging dropouts, narrowing the curriculum, increasing anxiety, fostering academic dishonesty, while doing little or nothing to improve schools (Rueter, 2005).

Katrina has prompted every other sector in America to reexamine purposes, procedures, and priorities. Is it not time to challenge the performance of NCLB, the effects of chronic underfunding, and the results of lackluster commitment to weigh how these have affected the education of American youth? As the desire to provide curriculum and instruction that meet the criteria of This We Believe continues to be constrained by this perfect storm, can we not fashion more good than bad out of these swirling forces?

References

Rose, L.C., & Gallup, A.M. (2005). The 37th annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the public's attitudes toward the public schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 87, 41-57.

Rueter, T. (2005). “Disastrous” No Child Left Behind Act should be repealed. Bloomington (Ind.) Herald-Times. Retrieved September 9, 2005, from http://www.collegenews.org/x4814.xml