What a shame they couldn't have found an extra seat in a classroom for George. He obviously was one of the children left behind. Unfortunately he's never been able to catch up. And if there was ever anyone who needed education it is George.

He must have taken War and Power 401 while the rest of his classmates elected to take Humanity, Social Studies, Building Nations with Diplomacy, The Concesequenences of War, World Peace Strategies and English Grammar 101.

I guess this is a prime example of how poor decisions during your school years can seriously affect the rest of your life and devastate many others.

I would not renew the NCLB law only IF the teachers union was dissolved. That group has done more to hold down any education reform than anyone - NCLB was an attempt to make schools accountable for the education of their students….maybe not perfect but with the unions "rules" in place locking down our students to a sub par form of education where the teachers are accountable for nothing…teachers…you know that the unions have wrecked the Education system in America…now we need the Democrats to jump out of bed with all unions….time has come and gone….(check out Detroit if you don't think unions are damaging…or the recent pilot strike that bankrupted airlines)

ryan, only true patriots would recognize bush is a good president? what rock did you crawl out from? iraq, immigration, trying to sell our ports, katrina, gonzalez. the list goes on and on. it's individuals like you that really make me realize how damaged our intellect is in this country. what a joke.

Should be 'Every Child Left Behind'.

The teachers are 'teaching the test' instead of teaching the material. Very bad system.

>You simply just make things up when all else fails,,,YOur type (liberals) are a sorry bunch of liars and traitors to this country

>Posted By Ryan Indianapolis

Thanks for proving why we need critical thinking skills taught in our schools. Oh, by the way, nobody was making this story up (about Bush's speech aid).
And how are liberals traitors, exactly? Nice display of level headed debate skills you got there.

To J Houston, TX

Um, okay, you just said there aren't enough people who want to go into the profession, and then you say you want to fire the ones who aren't up to par…these two statements seem contradictory.

Second, the fundamental error with that thinking is if every teacher is performing within one percent of each other there will always be a "bottom 1%" but not necessarily a bad bottom 1%

Third, NCLB has absolutely nothing to do with teacher's salary, it is simply holding teachers accountable for standards the government deems important, which by the way, are not the same in every state

Posted By J Houston, TX : September 26, 2007 4:42 pm

Bravo to your posting.

Charter schools are hammering public schools across the board and should be expanded and not shunned.

Merit pay for the good teachers should be expanded twofold as should early childhood ed.

Increase the breakfast program to make sure that children start the day right, so they can learn RIGHT.

Poor teachers that stopped giving a bleep, tenured or not, should be canned.

Parents should discipline their children at home and NOT expect the school system to do so.

Parent should pull away from Oprah or ET and do homework with their children, it is one of my favorite things I do as a parent.

Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

laurinda's comment is on the story that was on this morning's ticker.It's true that bush cannot read.A phonetic copy of his speech was mistakenly(or not) released.Try to keep your indignation in check.

bet the you didn't know that Bush has a special guidance for major addresses put on his teleprompter. It pronounces ( pro-noun-ces) all the difficult (dif-a-cult) words which seem to tongue (tounge) tie him. That's how he gets through without all the blunders. I was wondering how he did it.

Posted By laurinda,ny : September 26, 2007 4:04 pm

You simply just make things up when all else fails,,,YOur type (liberals) are a sorry bunch of liars and traitors to this country

No Child Left Behind is exactly what we need.

TEACHERS ARE UNDERPAID. That doesn't mean current teachers need more money, it means students, smart ones, are turning away from the career because it isn't viable. As a man, you can't support a family as a high school teacher. That gives strong academic performers zero reason to become a teacher in public schools. That decreases the quality of teachers entering and staying in the workforce. THAT is why teachers who are successful deserve recognition through better pay. Wouldn't you like to be evaluated for performance each year and given a raise based upon that? Wait, that's exactly what is being done everywhere else! Finally somebody tried to reign in the teacher's union and establish pay based on performance and not based upon years experience.

No Child Left Behind isn't even going far enough. The bottom 1% of teachers should be FIRED every year. Give their salaries to somebody who knows how to do their job. God forbid we expect people to be good at their job and handle challenges. When a teacher goes above and beyond and helps his students excell, that is exactly where money should be sent!

As a teacher I can attest that the No Child Left Behind act, while a noble idea, does not necessarily produce desired results that are meaningful. Schools have dropped so much of their curriculum in order to prepare students how to pass standardized tests. The schools fear having their funding cut. The students aren't learning to think (which is essential for higher education).
Worse, we're all but ignoring students who aren't failing.

Politicians have no business sticking their noses in education to look good in the public eye. This is no different that the fake display of working class sympathy when a politician dons a hardhat while speaking to union workers.

Those who blame teachers for society's ills are sadly misinformed. The issues facing educational reform are complex and require solutions beyond simplistic test scores. But it takes critical thinking skills to acknowledge this, and critical thinking is ignored with No Child Left Behind

I bet the you didn't know that Bush has a special guidance for major addresses put on his teleprompter. It pronounces ( pro-noun-ces) all the difficult (dif-a-cult) words which seem to tongue (tounge) tie him. That's how he gets through without all the blunders. I was wondering how he did it.

Bush is a strong leader and should be given more credit on the NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND, but as we know he cant do anything right I am sure some of the BUSH BASHERS will find something wrong with improved scores and more money into the educational system. BUSH is scrutinized either way but true patriots can see that Bush is a man of courage and honor. Keep it up GW.

They look like two little gray haired twin elves.

Testing scores in these areas had already begun to show improvement BEFORE No child left behind, begining in the 1990s, thanks to Bill Clinton. Bush and republicans cannot take full credit for this.

Wait a second…I thought Bush didn't like science because it doesn't agree with his magical sky fairy.

Im glad we have gone up in math and sci. but I still totally disagree that more money will somehow improve teaching (and education overall). All we had back in school was a desk and a book and our brains. SO how was it that when we had LESS money, our scores were brilliant. With higher and higher union dues and higher teachers' salaries, the scores were going down, down, down. Could it be the unions are more interested in teachers' salaries than in improving education?

I'm not an expert on journalistic style, but I know that "first lady" is not supposed to be capitalized. It is not, and never has been, an official title or office.

Hillary Clinton would like to think otherwise. Apparently it was the job that makes her the most experienced candidate for President in history.