Building on his stellar early service to constituents in the 11th Congressional District, Congressman McNerney is turning his attention to education reform, focusing on making science more accessible to under-represented populations and fixing the most egregious aspects of the "No Child Left Behind" Act.
As Hank Shaw reports in the Stockton Record:
McNerney, a Pleasanton Democrat, pushed through an amendment to the National Science Foundation budget that makes it easier for colleges that serve Latino students to compete for science grants. San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton is one such school.
[...]
McNerney's amendment, offered with colleagues from Arizona and New York, was approved on a voice vote late Wednesday. The science foundation bill itself passed 399-17.
This week's bill follows legislation McNerney co-sponsored that boosts the number of qualified K-12 math and science teachers and gives extra support to young researchers in the sciences.
"We need to invest more in education," he said, noting that China is now graduating more English-speaking engineers than the United States. "Let's face it: We're just not producing enough engineers of any racial group right now."
McNerney said he hopes that Delta College will get some of that new money.
Meanwhile, Congressman McNerney met with educators in Lodi to hear their thoughts on the "No Child Left Behind" Act.
Matt Brown covered the meeting for the Lodi News-Sentinel:
McNerney said the act is driving teachers out of the profession.
"I think NCLB was administered in a cynical way," he said. "I think it's been hurtful. We need the proper investment in education."
The Central Valley educators shared their ideas with Congressman McNerney, expressing their concerns about how NCLB has marginalized important areas of instruction:
Teachers told McNerney that art and science instruction has been neglected because they are forced to teach to standardized tests.
"I teach guerilla style," Stockton teacher Chris Nelson said. "I use the little left over minutes for art, drama and social science. The culture of this testing is overwhelmingly stressful."
Congressman McNerney's responsiveness and accessibility once again gained high marks from local leaders attending the meeting:
Ken Davis, president of the Lodi Unified School District Board of Trustees, said he was pleased with McNerney's receptiveness to the educators' concerns.
"The policy affects what we do in the classroom," he said. "Sometimes the policy needs to be fixed. I'm just glad he's here to listen."
After the meeting, Congressman McNerney announced that he would form a local advisory group on education, following groups the Congressman has already initiated on heath, business and agriculture.
As an engineering lecturer at SJSU, some 10 years, I feel entitled to comment on No Child Left Behind.
There are many things wrong with that law, chief among them the idea that schools and teachers should be "punished" on the basis of test scores that fall below the mark.
Leaving it in place with few or no changes will have disastrous consequences for the public schools, and for the preparation of students for higher education.
For an extended discussion, see two of my essays on the subject on my web page, http://www.wbarrett.us.
Posted by: William Barrett | December 15, 2007 at 12:18 PM