Report of Information: No Child Left Behind Act

The educational system has altered according to time and performance. Comparing students' performance within the early twentieth century to the twenty-first century is like comparing an orange and an apple. Academic performance within the time gaps has widened. The drive for academic excellence has decreased by the multiple influences of the world. If there was an academic performance bar graph measuring the intellectual levels of students from the twentieth century to the twenty- first century I'm sure it would show a steep plunge.

The Bush administration just recently revised the No Child Left Behind Act, abbreviated as NCLB, in 2002. Bush incorporated education in his inaugural address by placing it at the peak of his concerns. Bush wanted NCLB to pass in a bipartisan agreement. He wanted to include the Democrats opinions amongst the Republicans and come to an agreeable compromise.  The narrow majority tactic was unacceptable to Bush. Bush swayed sides amongst the passing of this act. NCLB was considered a more Democratic move than of the GOP. 

Bush opted the bipartisan approach for  numerous reasons. “First, though Republicans technically controlled Congress, they did so by a slim margin, and their majority could prove insufficient.” (MuGuinn 166) The Senate during that time was remotely divided evenly, almost like the white house today. So the GOP wouldn’t have had the chance to halt the Democrat filibuster, knowing that in advance Bush strategized. “Second, Bush had pledged to work with the Democrats versial victory in 2000 ensured that a partisan approach in his first and highest profile domestic issue would generate a great deal of rancor.” (McGuinn 166) He wanted to make amends with the Democrats. He noticed the thin line between the Republicans and Democrats and realized how hard it was going to be to pass laws. So, he did what was best for our country. The act successfully passed due to the creation of an alliance between the New Democrats and the Republicans.

The first draft of the Act was neither to the Democrat nor the Republican standards. The Democrats felt like the government was becoming too controlling of the education system, while the Republicans felt as if more control was needed. So the act went up for revision. Though President Bush touched basis on annual testing, teacher qualifications, and reading other factors needed to be added. “Current statistics indicate nearly 70 percent of US children entering the fourth grade are academically behind.” (Goldman 7) There were multiple precautions taken to possibly lower this percentage. A few of the precautions that were made was increasing the accountability of a student performance, focusing on what works, empowering parents, and limiting federal dollars.

 The Revised No Child Left Behind Act mapped the multiple concerns of the everyday school system. Outlining specifics was needed for the school system.  There are multiple blind spots for corruption, it’s better to make them as narrow as possible then to leave them open. In the state of Alabama, the public school system blocked certain internet sites and computer functions: such as increasing the volume and printing from a computer lab computer for the children sake to insure teaching and learning is taking place.

The revised act asked each state to adopt academic standards to guide the curricula and adopt a testing and accountability system. “States must test all students in grades 3-8 every year (as well as once in high school) in math and reading beginning in 2005-2006 school year.” (McGuinn 178) Math and Reading skills are used throughout everyday life. It is proven that some students advance to higher grades without being able to read. The English proficiency tests, in effect during the 2007-2008 school years, are being given to those whose first language is something other than English. States are also required to test different levels of science. Each state is responsible for their own tests.

The act mandated teaching qualifications. The act specified that each classroom should contain a “highly qualified teacher”. All teachers are to be hired with Title 1 funds. Highly qualified was specified as being licensed with certificate in hand, bachelor’s degree, and competence in subject knowledge and teaching skills.

States are required to distribute report cards outlining students’ grades in all classes. Schools have to monitor the process of all students to insure they are on grade level and are capable of passing the state tests. Each test are the same, non discriminative among race or economic conditions. Each student deserve the same chance as the next.

In conclusion, the No Child Left Behind Act is an act of equality, insuring everyone the proper education and making sure everything is being handled in order. The biggest problem with this act was the adjustment. Teachers being accustomed to the unorganized way for years are very stubborn when it comes to change. This act has affected everyone from the bus drivers to the custodians. The revised education system is a bundle of valuable precautions taken to up root the good of children all over the United States.

Works Cited

Aldridge, Jerry & Goldman, Renitta.(2002). Current Issues and Trends in Education. (pp. 7)Boston, MA: A Pearson Education Company

McGuinn, Patrick J.(2006). No Child Left Behind and the Transformation of Federal Education Policy, 1965-2005. (pp. 165-185)Kansas: University Press of Kansas.

Part 1 of Exam 3 for Theatre Appreciation

The American Dream can be describe in multiple ways, whether its freedom or as simple as a white picket fence.  My American Dream is complete freedom to better ones self. I couldn’t live within a Communist government who controls every emotion and living condition. When I really think about the Communist system I think of a Prize Winning Book entitled The Giver by Lois Lowry. This book messed me up for life, the chosen women’s’ jobs were to be birthmothers. I couldn’t do it. Freedom of career choice, living conditions, family, car to drive is all determined by us. We choose our own destiny. Freedom to better ones self can be interpreted through multiple playwrights. Death of a Salesman, A Raisin in the Sun, and Fences show evidence of the American Dream being to the freedom to better ones self.

                The play Death of a Salesman was written by Arthur Miller in 1949. The main character of this piece of art is Willy Lowman, he was an older man with a wife and two sons. One of his sons had the ability to make something of himself, but fell by the waste side when it came to handling his business to get there. Biff hasn’t found himself yet throughout his thirty odd years on Earth. He has the freedom to better himself and find his place in the world.  Biff says “Well, I spent six or seven years after high school trying to work myself up. Shipping clerk, salesman, business of one kind after another.” (pg.871) Biff clearly had the freedom to test every possible job he could get his hands on, but fell short because he wasn’t satisfied with the work.  Happy, Biff’s older brother, was just as dissatisfied but he stuck through his dissatisfaction. He wanted to one day become the merchandise manager at his job because that’s where the real money is. Happy had his own insecurities with finding a way to get by. He says” Sometimes I sit in my apartment – all alone. And I think about the rent I’m paying. And it’s crazy. But then, it’s what I always wanted. My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women.” But then he comes back and says “And still, god-dammit, I’m lonely” (pg. 872).  Happy had the simple things he dreamed of, but noticed others making twice as much. He wanted to be just as they were, wealthy and able to build a house live in it and resale it. He sleeps with the executives of the company wives for revenge.  He attempts to better himself. He is contemplating other jobs. Happy don’t want to disappoint his parents like Biff has. Willy doesn’t believe his son. Willy wants his sons to work as hard as he has to make a living. He has provided for his family already he wants to stop working so hard and want Happy to step in to reality, so Willy says to Happy ” You’ll retire me for life on seventy goddam dollars a week? And your women and your car and your apartment, and you’ll retire me for life!” (pg. 877)He wants Happy just to get real. Biff and Happy had the freedom to better themselves. They want to have something to look forward to in the long run. Willy just wants to see his sons make it. The freedom to strive for the best and correct lifestyles to accommodate the best lifestyle is truly am American Dream.

                In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry there are also examples of the American Dream being the freedom to better ones self. The sub- plot of this piece of literature is to better ones self, in this case, to better the entire family’s’ living conditions.  Walter was the outrageous dreamer of the family he woke up one day and noticed that he was over thirty married for eleven years and had a son sleeping on the couch of his mother’s apartment. He always had get rich quick schemes coming out of his pockets.  He thought his family never listened to him. One morning he said “That’s it. There you are. Man say to his woman: I got me a dream. His woman say. Eat your eggs. Man say: I got to take hold of this here world, baby! And a woman will say: Eat your eggs and go to work.” (pg. 1043)He was talking to his wife Ruth about the liquor business he wanted to spend his father’s insurance check on. He had a dream to get his family out of poverty, and he thought no one would listen to him. Beneatha had great dreams of her own. She was popular with the guys, but their opinions of her choice of occupation made her reconsider their presence. Beneatha tells Mama and Ruth “Oh, I probably will..  but first I’m going to be a doctor, and George, for one still thinks that’s pretty funny. “(pg. 1048) Beneatha wants to be a doctor though everyone is teasingly doubting her. Her dream is to help those who are suffering; she wants to better herself by helping others, the American Dream.  Mama had her ways also, though Walter wanted the money to start the liquor company; she went out and did something even better with the money.  She went out and brought the family a house. Walter was mad because he wanted the money for his company. Mama said “It’s just a plain little old home – but it’s made good and solid—and it will be ours. Walter Lee—it makes a difference in a man when he can walk on floors that belong to him...” Mama did something her and Sr. Younger wanted to do for years. Her dream was to get her family something they all would enjoy and that’s what she did. The freedom to dream, the freedom to work hard, the freedom to better ones self is what the Younger’s stood for.

                The play Fences by August Wilson is a wonder masterpiece that emphasize the American Dream as being to better ones self. Troy, the protagonist, is very out spoken one day he said “You think only white fellows got sense enough to drive a truck. That ain’t no paper job! Hell, anybody could drive a truck. How come you got all whites driving and the colors lifting?”(pg. 1339) Troy was one whose dream was equality. His life revolved around being treated better. He wanted to better himself, and at some point he didn’t know how. He said “I wonder why in the hell I ever stayed down there for six long years. But see, I didn’t know I could do no better. I thought only white folks had inside toilets and things.” (pg. 1340) He found the mind to get his family out of poverty to a better suited house worth living in. The American Dream to better ones self. Rose, Troy’s wife, was blind to his ways overall, she wanted to keep her family together. Her dream was to be safe in her home and make sure everything is intact. Her son Cory was a football player and he was very good. Rose told Troy, “Cory done went and got recruited by a college football team.” She was excited because she knew Cory’s potential. Cory’s dream isn’t to play professionally, but to just enjoy it. Troy wants to decline the offer because all the odds he faced when he wanted to play pro baseball.  The color barrier was the issue of Troy’s time. The American Dream to better ones self in making dreams come true, questioning the statistics, and rethinking the conditions is Fences American Dream.

In conclusion, The American Dream of all three of these extravagant pieces of work is to better ones self, whether it is to find your place in the world, invest in something that is yours to get your family ahead, or to open your eyes to what you didn’t know to make anything possible.

A Delicate Balance Theatre Review

Theatre AUM has brought the state of a typical American family to the stage. This play was both modern and brutally honest. The play, A Delicate Balance, cycled from November 11^th until the 21^st. A Delicate Balance was written by the one and only Edward Albee. Edward Albee is famous for his Pulitzer winning productions such as Seascape and Three Tall Women . He was a Western Union Messenger, but now he currently works at the University of Houston. A Delicate Balance pushed forward the idea of a perfect family is just what it is an idea.  The fact that we aren’t living in an utopia, and that everyone have problems was the plot of the play. In this case, this family resolved their family issues by drinking. The bar was used as a source of peace. Claire was the family alcoholic, obviously, but the others drunk as much, if not more, than she. I applaud the Director: Sarah Worley, Set Designer: Jason Huffman, Men and Women Costume Designers: Maddie Bogacz and Sarah Fish, Lighting Designer: Mickey Lonsdale, and Sound Designer: Frank Thomas. Without the dedication and hard work of this phenomenal few this production would not of been what is was. There is a grand list of others that assisted in the production on the rear of the program that worked equally hard.

                The scenery was extremely easy to relate to.  It took place in Tobias and Agnes’ living room. This was indeed the best place for a story to unfold. When entering ones home the first place a visitor is invited is the living room. They sit and chat for periods of time in that very living room. Every visitor has their own occasion for visiting whether its mess or just to stop by, but a lot of conversations and secrets unfold in a living room.  Agnes and Tobias had interesting conversations of their own in that very living room.

                My top three characters from the play are definitely Claire, Agnes, and Julia. I could partially see myself in all three of these characters. I enjoyed Claire’s character, I am tremendously just as she. I played the clarinet in middle school. I walked around the house playing it multiple times just to annoy my siblings. I could relate to Agnes because she is trying to find herself. She is going through so much: her marriage is broken, her daughter can’t maintain a relationship, and her sister is unstable.   I am going through my own personal crisis being in college now and finding out who my real friends are, trying to get an understanding out of life is very difficult. Julia is what I am when it comes to guys, but I’ve never been married let alone divorced. My difference is that I’m kind of picky. He doesn’t have to be perfect but his drive has to be alone that same path as mine as far as college and having real goals. Of the entire cast there was only one AUM student.

                Claire was played by the only AUM student Ms. Laura Bramlette. She was freaking hilarious. She played this character very well. This character was all over the place, drinking excessively, and loud.  Laura did well with delivering her lines. She hopped the tables and crawled the couch; she made a complete fool of herself in many scenes. Laura was the perfect person for this role. She utilized her skills with stretching and shrinking her voice in certain scenes. The funniest scene, in my opinion was her talking to Tobias and she states while she was in Alcoholic Anonymous she had a drink before she got to class and she said she felt herself getting up and she said she heard her little girl voice said the words “I am an alcoholic”. I couldn’t stop laughing. She was a wonderful character to watch and compare some of my family member to.

                Agnes was played by Mrs. Katie Pearson. She was wonderful at being the chain of the family.  She held everyone together even when she couldn’t take the attitudes anymore. She wanted her perfect family back at some points of the play. She learned to adapt and to just go with the flow. She was a great friend to Edna and Harry when they were scared silly by absolutely nothing. Katie was serious about finding a remedy to solve her various family problems. She did very fine, capturing the role and delivering her lines fluently. She really made this production spectacular.

                Julia was played by Tina Reese. She played a wonderful lady that was divorced more than three times. She was very fluent and put a lot of emotion in to her character just as I would if I had some random ungrateful people staying in my room.  She did a wonderful job.

                In conclusion, A Delicate Balance was a phenomenal play. Edward Albee really did a wonderful job. I can really see this play winning a Pulitzer. I again applaud the cast and the production crew at Theatre AUM. Everyone should really watch this play bringing forth the ugly head of alcoholism. At the end of this play the character of horrible friends appeared. The audience, like I did would leave wondering would your friends do the same as Agnes and Tobias. I would ,but that just might be me.

1 Step Forward 3 Steps Behind

I have never slacked this much in my entire life. I can promote being productive all I want but if I'm not being productive my grades are reaping the consequences. This is awful. Finals are coming quicker than ever. I think I need to leave my gadgets alone for the week of finals so I could really concentrate. The college work load is extremely different from high school. I know I haven't done my best this semester, so I know for a fact next semester will be different.

Work

     I am ready for the upcoming Christmas break. Finals are starting next week and I am taking the proper precautions to asses that I do well. My easier classes will not be a problem, but my harder ones like, POLS Intro in to Gov. and Politics and Psychology will be hectic. I have to study my behind off to make a high B. I think I am ready to buckle down. Its funny how we talked about stress in Psychology and this is the most stressful time of the year. This is my very first semester in college and I have to adequately adjust myself for that.

Non-Traditional Thanksgiving

As long as I was on this Earth and beyond my family use to gather at my great grandparents house for Thanksgiving. As the years passed my great grandparents slowly faded. Today both are gone, though we celebrated years after both passed, this year was different. We stayed at our own house and celebrated Thanksgiving with our close friends and other family members. We had a wonderful time not expecting everyone to come. We had moments when we were just sitting at the house wondering who invited all of these people. Any other Thanksgiving my mom would be cooking all day and we wouldn't eat until Friday. The Thanksgiving she finishes early everyone comes over and eats everything, which was fine with us because our refrigerator wasn't over flowing with food. So we are good. A break in tradition went fine so, we had fun.

Paraphrasing

2. The twenties were the years when drinking was against the law, and the law was a bad joke because everyone knew of a local bar where liquor could be had. They were the years when organized crime ruled the cities, and the police seemed powerless to do anything against it. Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread throughout the land, and men like Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of the young. The flapper was born in the twenties, and with her bobbed hair and short skirts, she symbolized, perhaps more than anyone or anything else, America's break with the past. From Kathleen Yancey, English 102 Supplemental Guide (1989): 25.
Organized crimes, bars, and jazz were the highlights of the twenties. The police seamed helpless when herds of protesters were utilizing their rights. Classical music soon evaporated as jazz slithered its toe tapping, slow gyrating, smooth mellow tune in every bodies hearts. The bars were up and running, though liquor was against the law. The flapper was unique during that times also, bob hair cuts and mini skirts were the fashion of that time.