Schools are spending more and more time on reading and math education, and less and less time on all other activities, as reported in the Arizona Daily Star. According to the Nonpartisan Center on Education Policy, NCLB is the culprit.
Proponents of NCLB say the law is doing what it is supposed to do, holding schools accountable and making sure every child can read and do math. But critics of the law say all the focus on school work is taking away all school fun, and creating some very dull students.
Yes, we need to give kids all the tools and skills they need to succeed academically. But, no one ever said school and learning could not and should not be fun and creative. We also need to give teachers and schools the freedom and time to balance classroom activities, so fun does not get lost on the academic accountability battleground.
This makes sense, schools are not fun and they never have been. At least not for most of us. Many of us have felt humiliated, teased, insignificant, confused, lost...the school is the most integral part of growing up and it influences your self-esteem. I feel because schools are not fun, kids today, more than when we were growing up, are looking for things outside the school that are fun, like computer games, chatting online with friends, trying out drugs, going out to pubs, smoking etc. I don't blame kids for going with the flow and experimenting with the 'wrong' things. I blame the education system, the policy makers, the schools for not being able to figure out and understand this simple fact: schools are boring, too hectic, too stressful, too competitive, too much studies and very less reality.