Term paper: 2 different questions

DQ 1

NCLB aims at eliminating gaps between students and providing educational opportunities for all children, regardless of their social background. However, the implementation of NCLB raises the problem of the adaptation of the curriculum to the academic and cognitive level of development of all students, since gaps between students may be wide. In addition, teachers have to develop effective approaches to help students to learn successfully, while children from low-income families often face difficulties with learning because of financial problems of their families and the low educational level of their parents. Students in the classroom also have to adapt to NCLB requirements since the inclusion of new students is always a challenge for newcomers and other students in the classroom. Students have to develop positive relationships with their peers and gaps in their social standing and cultural background may cause conflicts between students in the classroom. Finally, schools and school districts should elaborate inclusion programs to help all students to integrate into the school environment and to learn successfully. Schools and school districts have also to find and manage financial resources effectively to complete NCLB successfully.

DQ2

Teachers accountability can have both positive and negative effects on the classroom environment. On the one hand, teachers are interested in the academic progress of their students and they will keep them motivated to meet the set educational standards. Hence, teachers will create positive learning environment. On the other hand, some students may surpass substantially existing standards, while others will almost drop out, while teachers will be concerned not with the development of skills and talents of students but with matching the standards. Thus, some students will fail to develop their talents, while others, who face a threat of dropping out, will have to work hard to match existing standards and teachers will have to pay more attention to dropping students than to talented ones.