Is the title shocking?  Think about it.  When you think about it, the statement is a truism.  No one is saying that half of all children are stupid.  That half of all children are morons.  But the simple fact is that one takes the total sample, adds it up and divides by the number of the population.  That is an average.  And while one may argue that the average is not the median (the median is the true mid point of the population), with a sample size large enough, and the range small enough, they are very close in number.

I read the linked Op-Ed and it got me to thinking along lines that I had not thought of before.  Quite simply, I have agreed that "No Child Left Behind" was a stupid program, but for reasons other than the author presents.  But then when I read the article, I realized there is another reason that the NCLB is a bad program.

Simply put, if we are to "lift" all children up to some arbitrary standard, we have to do one critical thing.  Dumb down the standard until all (or at least the vast majority) of children can meet it.

And what does that do to our education system?  Let's look at it for a minute.  Most schools give out letter grades of A, B, C, D, and F.  C is the average (and for some students and parents - OK). (We will forget AP classes for now).  So if we were being very strict and fair, then half the students would score a C or below in school.  Half would score C+ or better.  That is what one would say about an education system that teaches all students on an equal footing.

But we don't allow that.  We, as a society.  We push all but the most limited of our children to exceed.  Get that A (or !  Go to college!  Make a life for yourself!  Excel!  And in order to do that, what do we do?  We do not flunk 20% of the population (we should, but then we might damage their self esteem).  We do not give out D's and F's like A's and B's either.

Does that mean that our schools are cheating?  Some may, but I don't think it is a conspiracy to cheat.  What it is, is a conspiracy of the government to deny a natural law.  That not all children are above average.

And the real effect is more insidious than what some might at first think, and it is what came to my mind in reading the article.  Some students are being promoted for feel good reasons, but for the most part, the way that we as a society are achieving the goals of NCLB (and other state sponsored programs) is to dumb down the education system.  To the point that we are cheating the true "A" students, and to a lesser extent, the "B" students as well.

We spend tons of money on special education.  And it is law that those students get special help.  I know, as I do have a dyslexic child, and have become very familiar with what they are ENTITLED to, and how fast a school will cave to the demands of a parent with knowledge of the laws on their side.  But how much do we spend on TAG students?  Shockingly, nothing (that is right 0) from the Feds!  And with almost no exceptions, there are no laws that dictate we challenged the TAG students.  And only by the grace of the local school system do programs even exist!  I know, as my other children are all TAG, and I found out that there is NOTHING the school system has to do for them (and hence why I pulled one out of the school system for some home schooling and a stint at a private school).

NCLB and other laws seem noble on paper, and are of course like the "Rah Rah" that we do get from politicians.  But the underlying rot of them is that they neglect our best and brightest as schools do not always have resources to challenge those students.  In a nut shell, we are dumbing down education in America.  And that is a national shame.

Until we as a society, and then our politicians, realize that life is not fair, and that not every student CAN be an Albert Einstein, we are going to continue to cheat our best and brightest when it comes to education.  It is no wonder that year in and year out, the winner of the National Spelling Bee is more likely to be a home schooled child.  Parents are not restricted to teaching to the lowest common denominator. And so they teach to the child.  Teachers are not so blessed as they have 20-25 students, must teach to all the students, at the pace of the slowest.

When I was in school, in Germany, I learned about the German system.  In it, at a relatively early age, students are divided.  The brightest go to a Gymnasium, where they basically are prepared for College.  Others are sent to vocational schools where the emphasis is on learning a trade.  At the time, I thought it was totally unfair, and wrong. 

Now as a father, I don't see it that way.  The Germans are not pretending that everyone can go to college.  They understand what average means, and instead of forcing students ill prepared for a college education to endure failure, they teach them a trade.  In the end, all succeed.  At their respective ventures.  And those who may be mis-assigned to a vo-Tech school?  There are ways they can still get into college, although it is not the normal path.  Nothing is perfect, and at least the Germans seem to be trying to teach to the student, and not to some arbitrary standard made by some bureaucrat in a far distant city.