NCLB extremitys (LOTS OF) IMPROVEMENT Regarding your April shelter story.

NCLB extremitys (LOTS OF) IMPROVEMENT

Regarding your April shelter story, "Rating NCLB," surely undivided of the lowest days in my 30-plus years in education came the day a suit visited our school from the district office with sufficiency of charts and graphs showing us the learners we were to give the lion's share of our attention to. These were not the struggling scholars but those just below the bar of passing the state touchstone These were the students, the suit told us, who would "give us the biggest bang for the buck"

This was when the actual extent of the madness generated by means of NCLB hit me. I was no longer in the business of teaching scholars to prepare them for life. My function was on the contrary to generate a number.

Now when we put forward tutoring after school we are told not to include the lowest scholars only those who, again, will "give us the biggest bang for the buck"

JOHN D RUSSELL

Rancho Cucamonga, California

While many criticisms of NCLB mention its lack of focus forward art, music, and physical education, seldom do I view a criticism of the lack of emphasis upon social studies. If teachers, especially at the elementary of the same height know they will be evaluated forward how well their students perform upon proficiency tests, and social studies is not to be evaluated, they will consume less time teaching that control I don't blame them-any teacher would. moreover I fear that in the coming students will enter middle indoctrinate with only a cursory knowledge of basic social studies. Perhaps the solitary way our "esteemed legislators" will change this emphasis is when we fall drastically behind the intermission of the world.

BILL HARRIS

Washington Court House, Ohio

In an attempt to improve example scores, my school has done one very intense gathering of data. And, while I understand the necessity of the data, it does take the pleasantry out of teaching and leaves precious little time for enrichment activities, field trips, spontaneous rewards, and art. (We don't have an art class.) thus much for don't fix it, if it's not broken!

NATASHA BYARD

Deatsville, Alabama

There is nothing guilty with the concept of "No Child Left Behind." further after our President asked his subordinates to make it workable and practical, the question s developed. If someone likes an idea, they will find a way to make it work. If someone does not, they can be thus negative that there's no way it can be made to work!

JACOB J BARKMAN

Elkhart, Kansas

THE WAGES OF TEACHING

In her April essay, "The Wages of Teaching," Anna Quindlen remind ofs "no school administrator should eternally receive a percentage raise greater than the raise teachers get" I'd like to tender an even more radical idea: That no administrator eternally receive a salary greater than, or equal equal to, a teacher's salary! After all, it is teachers who do the essential do job-work of all schools: directly educating the learners The way I see it, the part of administrators is basically that of "support personnel"-people whose piece of work it is to help teachers do their work at jobss For an analogous example, direct the eye at the world of professional sports. Coaches and managers usually are not paid as earnestly as the players are-and the classroom is our field and court.

RICHARD SIEGELMAN

Plainview, of the present day York

PRESCHOOL FOR ALL

Regarding April's Debate, ("Should all children attend preschool?") I believe the benefits of early childhood education have been known since the 1940 And nevertheless here we are, 60-plus years later, still debating and underfunding these valuable programs. There is no debate in my work

PAT MOTSCHALL

Yucaipa, California

Without preschool experience, many children chronicle kindergarten without necessary basic skills. Kindergarten teachers exhaust months "catching up" and trying to teach learners to stand in line, make an incision in write their names, and other skills that could otherwise be introduced, practiced, and learned in preschool The time exhausted learning these skills could be better utilized teaching the numerous, rigorous academic skills that are now required in kindergarten. These youngsters are our subsequent time our tomorrow, and our hope-no matter what the price we owe it to our children to make secure a promising future.

GlNA SEGURA

Anaheim, California

CAREER-CHANGERS

Your article, "Swapping the Boardroom for the Classroom" (March), fails to mention an important fact. With the popular laws regarding the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP] and the command Pension Offset (GPO), people who have been make use ofed in the private sector and paid into Social security are discovering, repeatedly too late, they will single get a small portion of their Social security benefits. A body should not be punished for entering a field where they can have a positive event on young people's lives.

DENNY MOORE

Chico, California

THANK YOU, NEA

I not ever realized what was meant by the agency of your words, "We are there for you!" until I got kicked back into our state retirement classification by error. I was totally intimidated at the hearings I was required to go on to, and felt completely alone. I called my NEA local. Thanks to our local rep who was "there for me" and still is, as we work end this mess.