You Can Make a Difference!
These days, it’s common to hear people voicing a sense of hopelessness about their power to influence what is happening in our nation. At the same time, the complaints are somewhat ironic since so many of our fellow citizens do not use the power they do have. For example, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, only sixty-four percent of the eligible population voted in the 2004 presidential election.
You can see the importance of voting if you have been following the debate on the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. NCLB was enacted in 2001 with overwhelming bipartisan support. It was designed to bring every student to proficiency by 2014. It did so by requiring states to administer standardized tests and by punishing schools where scores do not rise.
It has led to an incredible number of problems.
One--of the many--stems from what happens when schools are forced to focus the bulk of the teaching on rudimentary skills aimed at bringing up the lowest students. One of the first things that happens is that parents, in large numbers, pull the best students out of the public schools since so few of the activities are ones that the children need or can benefit from. That’s the bad news—for the schools and for the nation.
But the good news is that last November, hearing the growing dissatisfaction, dozens of Democrats campaigned on promises to change the law. They were elected, and this year, joining forces with some significant Republican defections, they are now working hard at re-working its provisions.
It’s unfortunate that the legislators have waited till this point to take action. Had they given careful consideration to the original law, they could have anticipated—and prevented—many of the difficulties. And it’s too early to tell if the changes will be productive or not. This is certainly a work in progress that will require steady and careful attention.
Still, in all the complexity, it’s important to recognize that people can make a difference —when they choose to use the power that they have available.
