Putting Students First

Tony Pedriana is a former principal from Milwaukee's city school district, and author of "Leaving Johnny Behind: Overcoming Barriers to Literacy." He notes how the mantra "Children First" was a central topic during his career as a teacher and principal. This article, entitled "What it really means to put students first," highlights the actual trends that he saw develop out of an effort to put children first, and how we fell far short of that goal. In the end, he concludes that putting children first has never been our real goal with the choices that we have continued to make over the past several decades. "No Child Left Behind" is a joke, and only leaves more children behind each year. If we really are going to uphold the vision of putting children first, we have a long way to go, and a lot of people to hold accountable for the choices they make. Michelle Rhee at StudentsFirst is a good stepping stone in current advocacy, and she's willing to fight the fight. The real question is, what are you willing to do to help the cause of children and learning in this country?