I thought THAT was the problem...

I laughed out loud when I read this article in the Sunday Bellingham Herald...

Fear of more failing test scores sets off clash over No Child Left Behind - Local News - bellinghamherald.com

Not that it's so "ha-ha" funny...It's just so ironic, quintessentially so!

Apparently, so many public schools are failing to meet the standards of the "No Child Left Behind" law that 82% could be facing the loss of their federal aid.

Ouch -- that's a lot of schools, and students! In fact, it's truly a train wreck just waiting to happen.

So what are they going to do about it?

The Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, may use his executive authority to waive some requirements of the law, essentially allowing these schools to still make a passing grade...which will allow them to retain their federal aid, which will allow them to stay open, I guess.

I thought that was the kind of activity that got this whole education problem started...promoting people who were really not up to grade standards...Promotion without proficiency!

Hello? Anyone in the Education Department feeling at all embarrassed at this proposal? Hello? Remember that the point of going to school is LEARNING? -- It's not just keeping a seat warm for the required number of days...

But wait -- this is bureaucracy...It IS just a matter of keeping a seat warm so that there's a job for a bureaucrat...

I forgot.

Kids, prepare to be left behind.