Makers and Innovators

I have always used John Dewey's quote "Education isn't preparation for life. Education is life." This always seemed so fitting for struggling students who hate coming to school because it is so hard and just doesn't make sense to them. I try to bring grade level material to their level and teach them ideas and concepts while teaching them to read. Some say they are bored (they are really afraid to try) and some are frustrated, But I expect a lot. They are not stupid. They just can't read. We learn a lot by doing. My choice of makers was Bush. Not because I like NCLB. I picked him because I thought he has created the most change in recent history. The change did not start with him, but he gets the credit for signing NCLB. The negative change makers I find are actually Roland H. Good, III and Ruth Kaminski the creators of DIBELS. This test infuriates me to no end every time I give it. It tests how fast can I spit out these words and never stops to wonder if I understand what I read. If I understand what I read but don't read fast, I don't cut it. I become a child labeled at risk for failure and lose my enrichment time to get interventions to make me read fast. The thing that really gripes me is that Good never taught anyone how to read. He joined the national reading panel in 2000, stayed awhile, resigned, returned to the University of Oregon, and sold the American School System a test without ever being trained to teach a child to read. How is this test a valid measure or reading proficiency other than it measures what a group of non-reading teacher, non-elementary teacher, not many with classroom experience at all thought children should know in order to be able to read? Did you figure out I don't like this test or the National Reading Panel???