Leave No Child Behind?

Proponents of educational reform believe that schools must change significantly if they are to meet the needs of students today. Those in Washington who put forth the legislation known as the “No Child Left Behind Act” insist that schools must reform so as to meet the educational needs of every child.

To observe the challenges faced when considering such a notion, one should turn to a book by Michael Johnston. After completing his two-year stint in the Teach for America Program, Johnston authored “In the Deep Heart’s Core,” a summary of his experiences teaching in the impoverished Mississippi Delta.

Johnston Part of Teach for America Program

The Teach for America Program selects a corps of college graduates and places them as full-time teachers in areas where it is difficult to attract quality educators. The program solicits stellar students from various fields then trains these individuals to become teachers. Individuals selected to the program receive the average teacher starting pay, two years of loan deferral, and an educational stipend that can be used to either pay off loans or for future educational coursework.

Each year the Teach for America program recruits nearly 2,000 candidates. Johnston, a Yale graduate, was precisely the type of candidate the program seeks, placing a bright young man from one of the nation’s most affluent collegiate programs in one of the nation’s poorest school districts. In his book, Johnston openly talks of his desire to inspire students from the deep South, a place he “revered as the birthplace of civil rights.” In the opening section of the book, he clearly articulates the near impossibility of engaging some of his most challenging students.

A Young Man By the Name of Corelle

Early on, Johnston struggles with a student named Corelle, a 20-year-old young man who is classified academically as a sophomore. During one of his very first classes, Johnston makes numerous efforts to settle Corelle down and gain the attention of the young man’s classmates. When he fails to get the young man’s attention, Johnston issues Corelle a detention for disrupting the class. Not too surprisingly, Corelle’s response to being assigned the detention was to simply disrupt the class further.

In an effort to get some help, Johnston looks up Corelle’s address and heads to the boy’s house after school. Corelle’s mom would be Johnston’s first home visit. He arrives at the house and finds the yard devoid of a single blade of grass. The building is literally covered with dirt and dust, while the stairs leading up to a broken screen door seemed to spill from the building’s front opening. When Johnston meets Corelle’s mom, he comes to grips with the enormity of the challenge he faces. While the mother is praising Johnston, stating that he is the first teacher to ever show enough concern for Corelle to come visit his mother, Johnston realizes that Corelle’s mom is high on marijuana. Though she speaks willingly, she is unable to converse intelligently while under the influence of the drugs.

Unusual Family Values

Uncertain what to do, Johnston lets her take the lead in the conversation. She goes on to give Johnston a morality lesson on the values she is trying to instill in her children. She is trying to teach them not to steal or to hurt anyone. She goes on to say that if her children need some dope they only need to ask her or someone else in the neighborhood. She insists if she has dope she is willing to share it so that there is no need for her sons to steal or to go buy it from someone else.

In a matter of minutes, Johnston learns of the almost impossible circumstances Corelle and others in his classroom face. The Yale graduate experiences firsthand the bitterness and lack of hope that accompanies an impoverished, drug-infested home.

In the Deep Heart’s Core and NCLB

In the Deep Heart’s Core” further chronicles Johnston’s efforts during the two years he spent in the Teach for America Program. Corelle’s story makes it easy to see why so many teachers leave the profession within their first few years of teaching. In fact, one might truly wonder how anyone could work ten years or make a career of working under such conditions.

When politicians insist on legislation such as “No Child Left Behind” their focus is on school reform and the classroom approaches necessary to bring about greater learning. Under the “NCLB” Act, schools that cannot bring all students to required standards will be labeled as failing and ultimately face sanctions. However, Corelle’s situation clearly indicates that school reform alone has little chance of reaching the most challenging students in urban schools. “In the Deep Heart’s Core” teaches us the limitations facing the educational system in our country.

The “No Child Left Behind” notion may make a nice campaign mantra but if our politicians want to truly help the Corelle’s of our country become better educated, the focus and accountability cannot rest solely with schools.