Your mother had the flexibility to teach what and how she wanted, when she wanted. And my guess is that you weren't missing school 1 out of every 12 days. Public school teachers don't have this flexibility.
What they teach, every day, is prescribed from district central admin. The test comes on Friday. The test may show that the kids didn't learn squat that week. Too bad, next week is already planned and they'll be teaching something else come Monday.
The curriculum is set by district central admin, following standards of learning defined by the state, the SOLs meeting guidelines prescribed by the Feds.
It's all completely regimented now. There are no days where the science teacher can take a break from the curriculum and spark interest with a splashy experiment.
The English teacher who is passionate about a particular book doesn't get a chance to assign that book. What books are read are prescribed by someone else.
Learning happens best when the student is eager and excited to learn, when he is truly interested in the subject matter. Teachers who know their craft can spark this - they can lead the kid to the source and keep him excited and motivated. Teaching and learning works best when the teacher too is excited about the same subject matter.
That kind of teaching is all but dead in today's regimented institutions. NCLB is a big part of the reason why.
If there had suddenly been a big change in national test scores, downward, I would believe that NCLB had had an effect like you say. But the schools were not all just peachy until Bush came along. They’ve been useless sewers of ignorance for a long time. NCLB may not have helped but it can’t be the only thing to blame.
And, btw, teachers best be teaching to the test - what else are they going to do? If I know my students will be tested, among other things, on figurative language, why would I not teach similes and metaphors just because they are on the test? That doesn't even make sense.
Besides, teachers cannot teach to the final test as we are only given the guidelines of what to cover - not the test itself.
One more thing before I sign off for the night.When your doctor, your airline pilot, your H/VAC repairman, your mechanic took their various board certifications -- dont you hope they were taught to the test? I would hate to think the airline pilot in whose plane I am in was taught about brain surgery rather than how to fly. I want my H/VAC guy taught how to repair my system, not how to knit doilies just because his teacher had a passion in that area.
No child is prohibited from supplementing his/her education at the public library. Andrew Carnegie accomplished more for American education through "free" public libraries than the entire membership of the National Education Association.
Socialized medicine is a nightmare and so is socialized brainwashing posing as "education."