The No Child Left Behind Act was passed by President George W. Bush in 2001. Under this act, schools were held accountable for student progress in order to receive federal funding. One way to measure student progress was through standardized testing. Because this act placed pressure on schools, many schools began focusing more time and funding on subjects that would be tested such as, reading, writing, mathematics, science and history. This caused less time to be devoted to subjects in the humanities including, music, art, foreign languages, and physical education. Unfortunately, some schools even eliminated these subjects. It also in many cases took away “free electives”, meaning free blocks of time where students could choose classes for their schedule that interested them. These free electives were replaced with more instruction in the tested subjects.
In five or more sentences, tell me what your opinion is of this. Do you think subjects in the humanities are an important aspect of education? Should more time be focused on the core subjects (reading, writing, mathematics)? Why or why not? There is no correct or wrong answer- just tell me why you feel the way you do!
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ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, subjects in the humanities are an extremely important aspect of education. The humanities not only spark student creativity, but they develop well-rounded, open minded individuals. I am not saying that the core subjects aren’t important. They are crucial in developing intelligent students, but there must be a balance between the two areas. A student may be able to solve every math problem in the book, but it will serve no purpose if they cannot apply it to the outside world. Subject in the humanities can also improve skills in other subject areas as well. For example, a student may do poorly in math class but understand math through music (which is really very much mathematical). Or a student who struggles in reading comprehension may find that a foreign language helps them develop better listening and reading skills. High school, along with teaching academic skills, should be a time for students to explore what interests them so that they can decide what path to take in the future. By limiting the curriculum, we are limiting our students.
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