Abstract

No Child Left Behind: Compliance, Consent, and Beyond

Derrick Jones

University of California Santa Cruz

Abstract

This study examines the genealogy of colonial education for people of color in North America and examines the different modes of incorporation of Native American Indians, African Americans, Latino/a Americans, and Asian and Pacific Islanders and how each groups' educational experiences have been framed by domination and subjugation. Therefore, I explore this legacy and "failure" of students of color to close the educational gap and how it has been addressed in the form of current educational policy, specifically the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Lastly, I explore the displacement of teachers of color and maintenance of White teachers as the majority of educators and the ways in which educational policy and teacher education programs have been structured to maintain this status quo. Educational Data from 2003-2014 and structured interviews were used to describe the educational experiences of a teacher and seven former students from four urban high schools in Los Angeles California and how they described teaching and learning under the NCLB. Themes developed from interviews include: troubling for the future, victims blaming victims, the racelessness to survive, not knowing is left behind, and taught to live, survive, and thrive. Ultimately, teacher accountability beyond becoming more qualified or getting their students to perform better on standardized test are not enough. Teachers need to be educated and active in ways that promote a moral, ethical, and political pedagogy that seeks to address differences and similarities of the impact of colonial education on people of color, as well as whites. I contend that Transcommunality is an excellent start in transforming educational experiences into a life affirming endeavor.