So, I will do so here before the challenge begins - please feel free to skip this post - just blowing off some steam ~
I RESENT...
Losing the next three months to profit-driven, developmentally inappropriate standardized testing
Having to give up teaching my students to attend to district, state, and federal mandated "busy work"
Being made to give meaningless District performance assessments - AND having to fill in each student's bubble sheet indicating which questions they got right/wrong - after administering and scoring each test - then having to scan the tests, keeping fingers crossed that the scanner and software will work long enough to get them entered - all on top of the state and Federal tests we have been/will be subjected to.
I RESENT...
Needing to explain to parents why our daily schedule has been up-ended in order to accommodate testing.
Needing to consider whether answering parent questions regarding how to find out information about opting out their child from testing violates any ethical code or District personnel directive
Needing to weigh and measure ALL my comments regarding testing
I RESENT...
Having my students' gifted and resource room services CUT IN HALF in order to accommodate testing - in direct violation of their IEP (this is ILLEGAL, btw)
Having my principal call me in to explain to her WHY five of my students' families had opted them out and then have her inform me that our total opt out numbers will likely cause our school grade to drop significantly and would likely have a direct negative impact on my evaluation, as 50% of my score is based on my students' performance on the PARCC. (This is MY fault that families exerted their parental rights?)
Having a Governor and Sec. of Education who are doing everything in their power, legally and illegally, to destroy public education, all the while pocketing money and favors from "educational reform" agencies, publishing companies, and politicians.
I RESENT...
Losing money every year - no pay raises, but increased insurance premiums and contributions to retirement plan
Losing my profession - and my passion for it.
Losing my confidence that "this too shall pass."
Quote of the day: Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It's like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won't fatten the dog.
~Mark Twain
I think many of us are struggling with these issues, and trying to keep on loving being a teacher. We know we love the real thing, but a lot of our time is taken with the other stuff.
ReplyDeleteI empathize. It's okay to rant. Thankfully I work in a district that does not emphasize these test scores and accepts them for what they are: a single snapshot during a small window of time. I'm sorry that you're caught up in all this nonsense.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very tense time at every school. We want our kids to do their best on these assessments that we know little about. We don't want students to stop learning for weeks in order to (maybe) show what they've been learning (what test can really measure that). Ugggghhhh.
ReplyDeleteAMEN! And the funny thing is that are people who actually think educators are against the testing for selfish reasons. Any teacher would accept whatever score they received if she felt she had actually been allowed to TEACH. We can only hope the bickering and fighting in Indy brings greater attention to the insanity of what testing is doing to our next generation.
ReplyDelete