Positives of No Child Left Behind

Usually I hear the No Child left Behind Act scowled upon in teacher’s lounges across the state or ridiculed by veteran educators. I may not know enough about the law itself to understand what all the negative attitudes are for, but I know that I had to take a lot of schooling and preparation to be able to teach these kids, and when I do get that job know that I am “highly qualified” and ready to perform to the best of my ability. I recently read an article from The Journal of School Health that discussed the “No Child Left Behind Act” (NCLB) in a positive way, proclaiming that it led to an increase not only in the academic achievements, but also increased their programs dealing with healthy social development and prevention. Numerous studies were conducted to predict academic achievement based on the child’s adolescent behavior. For example they followed students in the seventh grade until the tenth grade and found that the students with antisocial, emotional or delinquent behavior at that age, led to disruptive or defiant behavior in the classroom, physical and relational aggression, and early initiation of substance use in later years. 

The correlation between the young behavior patterns and the aged students was quite obvious. I, too, agree that students who use drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and practice other delinquent behavior would ultimately finish with lower grades and test scores, if they finish at all! With this said, the article showed schools had increased their bonding and peer pressure programs in order to meet NCLB standards. They feel that by focusing on the students social and emotional needs, everyone will benefit. 

Furthermore, not only are the teaching requirements harder, something that I have experience first hand, but the facilities themselves are feeling the pressure to help these students achieve higher standards. If this is what every teacher in America is so angry about, I am not sure I want to go into that teacher's lounge and associate with those negative attitudes.