"Last spring, I had the privilege of watching my son compete in a high school track meet for the first time. He had worked very hard for this moment. His coach gave him the best training and advice available. As a parent, I was very supportive of my son's endeavors. As he lined up for the 100-meter sprint, we were all alive with anticipation, and then the gun sounded. My son quickly fell to the back of the pack and lost ground throughout the race.

"What went wrong? The effort, teaching, and support for him to to be successful were all present, but curiously my 240-pound son could not keep up with the other sprinters. Then we had an idea: maybe we could try another event more suited to his particular gifts. We switched to shot put and discus, and he soon rose to the top of his group.

"As a teacher of career and technical education, I see some very important parallels here. Knee-jerk reactions to ESEA/NCLB mandates have put elective coursework in jeopardy all across the country. We are taking talented students away from their best chances for success and forcing them into an educational 100-meter dash in which they have no opportunity to show the world what they can really do. I urge you to make changes in ESEA that will allow for diverse types of learners to be successful."

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