Three education experts gave the supportive opinion of local education on President Bush’s ‘No Child Left Behind’ law last night, in a discussion hosted by Boston College’s PULSE program, a curriculum combining the studies of philosophy and theology.
The law, signed in 2001, makes it possible for all children, regardless of family income, race and ethnicity, to receive an education.
Dr. Mary Walsh, professor of counseling and development psychology, said an analysis of the law requires a separate evaluation of the child.
‘We divide kids into two parts; there is the intellect and then there’s heart,’ she said. ‘We need to take the dividing line out and look at the child as a whole person.’
Much of the discussion focused on the ‘achievement gap’ that divides opportunistic children and disadvantaged children.
‘A great number of children are being left behind,’ Walsh said. ‘It has everything to do with the opportunities that these children do not have to learn.’
Dr. Janet Williams, deputy superintendent of Boston Public Schools, accentuated the role of principals and teachers in urban schools.
‘The first step is identifying strong principals and school leaders. Then, the next step is to identify strong teachers.’
To the many education majors in the audience, she added, ‘as prospective teachers, get a little heat in you.’
Susan Klaw, director of family literacy for Boston Excels, voiced the role of family literacy programs in inner-city Boston.
‘[Boston Excel’s] goal is to address all of the needs of children and some of the needs of their families,’ she said. ‘No family will be left behind.’
Klaw contended that a family’s literacy ultimately determined the success of its schoolchild.
‘We want parents to be able to access other resources in the community to enhance the education of their children,’ she said.
Walsh also acknowledged full service schools, saying they bring and keep children, and their parents, in schools.
‘Schools and community agencies need to pull together and work in a web to help students achieve,’ she said.
Walsh cited the Gardner Extended Services School, which administers ‘after-school programs, before-school programs, a summer school, a health clinic and job training.’
Students in attendance, many of which are education majors at BC, said they supported the speakers in their claims that all children should be given a fair education.
‘Every child can learn. It’s a matter of social justice and equality,’ said Beth Sullivan, a BC sophomore majoring in elementary education.
Dr. Williams emphasized what she called a ‘cultural iceberg,’ saying children judge each other only by the ‘top 10 percent.’
‘We need to see what that student is inside,’ she said. ‘We need to see that 90 percent.’
The forum was designed to ‘get a discussion going to students and bring up issues, questions, and concerns about urban education,’ according to Adam Koneman, a PULSE council member and BC graduate student.