Race to the Top

For my educational blog assignment I read Jim Taylor's blog about the Race to the Top. Since learning about Race To The Top, or RTTT I have been wondering why the government would want to help only one school district and not others. This blog has helped me build my own opinion on RTTT. The RTTT states that any school district interested in obtaining this great amount of money must first improve their school buildings, improve test scores, and improve the overall function of the school system. Jim talks about the schools starting to teach more to the test instead of teaching what is important once they reach the real world. I found this quite true. I have seen more and more teachers wanting to have their class pass the test so they don't teach them to be creative. How many times in their adult life are they going to recall what that test said? While on the other hand, how many times will they be grateful that their teacher spurred their creative side? The Race To The Top will most likely flop just like No Child Left Behind did. Neither system has visualized the goals that would be most helpful to the community. Each system only wants what is best for that year. I have seen a couple of students fall through the cracks because the teacher can't get that certain student caught up while helping the other children rise to the top. If you want to read more about Jim's opinion you can go to this website. It is http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/201002/education-race-the-top-part-ii