The Parts Don't Make a Whole; or, Non Sequitur

POINT A:
I came to a sudden realization after some recent discussions about our school system's high-stakes testing: we get our funding from the federal government, not state governments, so No Child Left Behind does not apply to DoDDS schools. Take that, Bush and Obama!

Yes, there are standards (and we are moving to Common Core soon---you teacher folks know what I'm talkin' 'bout). I just don't see teachers in this system having to forgo weeks of classroom instruction so they can do benchmarks---practice tests ad nauseum---like they do in most state systems.

Private schools, which get their funding from private organizations, foundations, individual donors and/or tuition fees, also do not follow No Child Left Behind.

Additionally, not following No Child Left Behind means you do not measure AYP. For you non-educators, that's the AdequateYearly Progress your school must show. If 90% of your public school population exceeds expectations for math this year, that's not good enough next year---95% must exceed to be acceptable. Also, in case you zoned out in the 2000s, Bush said students, even those with very low IQs but not the very few who get a waiver (usually the very, very, very low IQ kids), and those with major behavior and learning disabilities, and those non-English speakers with more than 3 years in the country but no real grasp of English, should all be at 100% on all tests, by next year. ¿Cómo se dice delusional? 

Now you know why, if you look closely enough, most teachers have mysterious marks on our foreheads---it's from banging our heads against the wall.

Another interesting tidbit I've learned: if you are not on military orders (such as private contractors), but you want your kid to go to a DoD school, the government will charge you tuition. It's around $20,000-25,000 a year.

POINT B:
To come to GTMO (and any international military base) with orders to work, such as government civilian personnel, you have to have a physical. If you are over 40, that includes an EKG. Your physical is sent off to someone at the hospital who reviews it and your fate is in that person's hands---you can be refused entry for medical reasons. (Wearing dental braces is a reason excluding you from working and/or living here---civilians don't have a dentist here, so an orthodontist? Surely you jest). You also have to have proof of insurance to live here---it costs tens of thousands to medivac you off island in case of an emergency requiring anything other than routine ER care. Even though we are an American military base and you never set foot on Cuba, you have to have a passport to live here (and depending on your job, a government issue, maroon passport).

If you are visiting someone on the island, you have to have a tourist passport, proof of insurance, and lots and lots of paperwork signed from the base commander giving you permission to stay here. You have to stay in a private home. This ain't Club Med---you aren't coming to town and staying in a hotel. We really don't have a hotel here. Even the press stays in tents.


IN CONCLUSION:

We are living in a very exclusive gated community.

AND

We are sending our children to a moderately expensive private school.

So now I need to know: have we become the 1%?

I feel an existential crisis coming on. (Also, if I don't believe in logical fallacies, do they still exist?)

We finally got a piece of the pie.