I think that we teach way too many subjects and we cover way too much material and the end result is that students have a very superficial knowledge, as we often say, a mile wide and an inch deep. Then once they leave school, almost everything's been forgotten. And I think that school needs to change to have a few priorities and to really go into those priorities very deeply." (Gardner 3007)
Similarly, Gardner (2007) emphasizes the importance of transforming the educational environment from the accumulative approach of traditional education and the NCLB approach to one that mirrors the suggestions of Emerson, Russel, and Einstein:
we need to have the individuals who are involved in education, primarily teachers and administrators, believe in this, really want to do it, and get the kind of help that they need in order to be able to switch, so to speak, from a teacher- centered, let's-stuff-it-into-the-kid's-mind kind of education to one where the preparation is behind the scenes and the child himself or herself is at the center of learning." (Gardner 2007)
Conclusion:
By its one-dimensional focus on reading/writing and mathematics skills, the NCLB Act contradicts the consensus of both contemporary educational theorists and previous...
In particular, it neglects the fundamental distinction between memorizing and learning, as well as the importance of acommodating student interest and its powerful motivational potential.
Similarly, the NCLB approach to education only further narrow the range of intellectual abilities relfected in human cognitive intelligence whereas modern educational theorists suggest the impottance of precsiely the opposite. Finally, by its exclusive concern over standardized test results that demonstrate progress in marginal students, the NCLB Act actually leaves behind the students with superior academic potential.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Einstein, a. (1936) on Education (From Ideas and Opinions.) New York: Crown Emerson, R.W., (1884) on Education (From a World of Ideas). Friere, P. (1972) the Banking Concept of Education (From a World of Ideas)
Gardner, H. (2000) the Disciplined Mind: Beyond Facts and Standardized Tests: The K-12 Education That Every Child Deserves.
New York: Penguin Putnam.
Gardner, H. (2007): Multiple Intelligences and New Forms of Assessment. Edutopia: What Works in
Public Education the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Retrieved June 30, at http://www.edutopia.org/howard-gardner-interview#graph5
Russell, B. (1926) the Functions of a Teacher (From the Basic Writings of
Bertrand Russell. London: Routledge.
