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Don't you think they'd need those things even without a federal law?
I think the issue of how teachers should best respond to NCLB is an interesting one, but I don't think that teacher were comfortable not letting kids have necessary materials before the law went into effect either.
Kevin, I don't think you have really thought it through far enough. I agree that the short to medium term results might seem really good, but long term, I think we may end up with an even worse system.
School choice by people who make bad decisions has the potential to be terrible. With our current public schools, we have some limited oversight and control over what schools have to do and what they have to offer. (Theoretically, if you thought your local schools were terrible, you could elect new local school board members to whom the current system would have to respond.)
Often charters are even less accountable to the local system and board than regular schools. While in some ways this could be great, it also has potential for disaster. Why do you think the same people who feed their kid McDonalds several times a week are going to choose when it comes to education: a rigorous, demanding program that holds students accountable for being ready and willing to learn or a school that pretends their kids are learning even if they aren't?)
If we want to do away with public schools totally, I could be cool with that, but as long as I've got to pitch in my tax dollars for a kid's education, his or her parents don't get completely free choice what to buy with the money. I want to make sure they are buying something worthwhile, and with public schools, even as they presently are, I get to help choose multiple levels of political educational oversight. What will really get with charters? Who knows?
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