“If the current trends persist, we will soon be able to describe the middle school curriculum as a collection of test-driven content and skills isolated in separate subject classes and superficially covered by teachers using standardized methods and materials. It is time for middle school educators and policy makers to raise some serious questions about the kind of curriculum that seems to be emerging from the standardization movement” (Brown, 196).

This passage stood out to me because it speaks to some of my fears for students of today and the future, many of which come from the effects of No Child Left Behind. Public school requirements for standardization and emphasis on testing are causing students stress and ruining their willingness to be creative and engaged. The cycle of memorizing information to spit back out for a test and then moving on and forgetting about it is not productive for a student’s growth or development, nor is it productive for society. There are so many different ways for children to learn and grow which, of course, do not all line up with one another, and one of the goals of education should be to help students figure out ways to open their minds as unique individuals. I wonder to what extent these public school standards may change in the future, and how I’ll be able to use whatever power or control I have to get around the increasing standardization.