No child left behind. What a terrible idea. We fantasize about American exceptionalism yet fail to excel in a significant number of areas when compared with our peers; we fall behind in math, science and literacy. The problem stems from our failing public education system and has worsened over time as our society transitions to a dependent welfare state. 

Over some fried onion rings and a pitcher of 312, my friends and I began talking about education. Two of the friends were K-12 teachers, both in English, and one for special needs students. They have a unique perspective on public education in America and where it is failing, particularly with the No Child Left Behind Act.

Besides the abhorrent structural problems like the factory-line focus, there is a problem with the way we treat the exceptional, mediocre and special needs children. I would like to focus on the two extremes.

The special needs teacher told me students are advanced to the next grade before they are ready. They fall behind at the higher level, become discouraged and end up failing classes and possibly dropping out. 

In special needs programs, teachers spend more time trying to care for their students than teaching them. To do that, we need more teachers. We poorly manage the few good teachers we have yet expect the same quality of education delivered no matter the circumstances. 

Because we have such an emphasis on treating everyone equally, we are falling behind our peers around the globe, which weakens our competitiveness. Now, to treat everyone equally, we reward even those who finish last. We are failing them because they haven’t gained any necessary skills, and we subsequently forget about them.

Further, according to a report from the Illinois News Bureau, research by Karrie Shogren, a special education professor at the University, suggests that a self-directed learning program can help students with disabilities achieve goals and ease transition to the workplace or college. By improving students’ self-determination, which increases their likelihood to be employed, she said students “can earn higher wages and have better quality of life.” 

On the other hand, I asked the other teacher about gifted students and what the school offers them. He said they got rid of their gifted program because they didn’t want to make others feel inferior or think less of themselves. Effectively, we hold back the brilliant in fear of hurting the feelings of those who are not, yet we reward the students who are struggling by advancing them to the next grade. No child left behind, remember? 

If I were a student and saw a friend in the gifted program, it would make me want to work harder and achieve similar results. Perhaps, though, competition isn’t the right incentive for all students. The process of standardization discourages some students and limits others’ abilities to excel in an area they enjoy or perform better in. Moving away from this and grading students with an emphasis on what they’re good at can help reduce the feelings of negativity that are formed when compared to their peers. What we currently practice provides no incentive for students to be their best.

Since when did recognizing and rewarding the gifted and talented transform into the incredulous facade that every person is equal in talent, athleticism, brilliance or creativity? Educating students in batches, for instance, places emphasis on age as a defining factor of their intellectual capacity. It’s not. A 10-year-old capable of learning at an eighth grade level shouldn’t be placed in fifth grade. It plays to the practice of rewarding trophies for teams who don’t win. 

What does this say to our youth? “It doesn’t matter if you fail, you’ll still be rewarded.” There is something wrong here. We should be telling our kids to “work harder.” We are doing them a disservice by not encouraging them to excel and compete to win.

But there is nothing wrong with competitiveness and winning, although I am starting to think our society believes so. We strive to be competitive on a global scale in our businesses and as a nation, but we don’t see it fit for the children who will one day become the leaders of this country.

This competitive spirit is what fuels the desire to succeed and to be exceptional. How will the country prosper when its citizens are discouraged to work hard so early on? You can only be the best if you compete with the best.

In a system where everyone is treated equally, we are leaving no room for improvement. No room to be exceptional. Students with special needs are not the same as gifted students. So they shouldn’t be treated the same. Standardizing doesn’t create a culture of excellence; it creates a culture of mediocrity. 

Tommy is a junior in Business. He can be reached at [email protected].