Chew issued a two-page statement explaining why the standardized tests required by No Child Left Behind are bad for everyone -- kids, teachers, schools, and families. He summarizes for the Seattle Times:
Carl Chew is typical of the teachers I know, who it seems without exception dismiss the wisdom of high-stakes testing dictated from on high. When's the last time you heard your local teacher talking about how much No Child Left Behind helps them teach your kids better?
"I think it's good for students to have basic skills in reading, writing and math," he said. "But also to have good skills in P.E. and art and music and public speaking."
The WASL [Washington State's NCLB test], he said, needs to be scrapped and replaced with a "gentler, kinder way of finding out what our students know and helping teachers educate them better."
Chew's action is "reflective of a general sense of frustration and dismay that our members feel about the WASL," said Mary Lindquist, president of the WEA [Linda Shaw, "Seattle Teacher, Suspended for Refusing to Give WASL, Calls Test 'Bad for Kids," Seattle Times, 2008.04.22].
Mr. Chew is atypical, though, in his willingness to take a stand against the standardized tests. Teachers know full well how little real good the standardized tests do, but most of them feel there's nothing they can do -- or dare do -- to stand up against the bureaucrats and politicians who don't trust the local schools to do their jobs.
If only we could get every teacher (and every student!) to follow Mr. Chew's example... what would happen if the federal government gave a test and nobody took it?
Okay, I must jump in here, even though I've never had kids and likely never will. I'm surprised that this post has been up for nearly 12 hours without a single comment.
ReplyDeleteKids should have plenty of time to be kids. Have we become so bent on "economic performance" and "job training" and "competition" that we're trying to turn people into robots almost from the time they are born?
I went to pre-school and kindergarten, but they were half-day affairs (or less), and they were not "mandatory." (Big Brother, take your mandates and ...) I took the "Iowa Tests of Basic Skills" every year in grade school, but there never seemed to be any pressure or "pass-fail" mentality. All I really remember is that one of the questions was so ridiculous that I spent the better part of the allotted time trying to keep from losing it in front of the whole class. It was all so boring ... the idea of the "frosting on an electric bulb" simply exploded into the barren mindscape and overwhelmed me with mirth. I'm surprised the teacher didn't send me home or to the principal's office.
Staying more on topic, I applaud the teacher who refuses to give children oppressive tests. Bring a telescope to school, put a sun filter on it, and show the students how to check Old Sol for spots during science class, say I ... Or better yet, invite them to a special evening session (at school, with the cops and the National Guard and the Marine Corps there for safety, of course) to look at the rings of Saturn ... To learn about wildlife, go out in the fields or the woods for a hike and look for garter snakes or prairie dogs, say I. But no. The lawyers await, drooling.
It's sad. Life is so short. Let kids be kids. Especially the boys; they're no longer allowed to evolve the way Nature intended. Makes me glad I'm a bachelor.
All of this must be why some consider homeschooling our children. Which may become illegal.
ReplyDeleteEven if we don't homeschool, I'll still have fun signing the note telling the school to excuse our daughter from the oppressive standardized tests.
ReplyDelete