Welcome to My SoapBox

I'm about to step on my soapbox people...cuz I am done...D-O-N-E with this time of year.  It's supposed to be a great time....a time where teachers and students are counting down the days, end of the year field trips are being planned, the last week of school is being looked at as a total fun week, and we clean out desks and lockers and get ready for a ton of fun in the sun!  This is a time where we put it together....the kiddos see how much they've grown.  They do projects.  They enjoy the outdoors.  Even though they are looking forward to summer break, they still love school.

But no....this is now the time of year where testing comes into play.  FIVE DAYS OF TESTING!!!!  Teachers stand in front of the class and read the directions in a monotonous tone as to not give any help to the children how the test should go.  Kiddos sit at their desks for a few hours with their pencils and they fill in bubbles or answer questions that they have to have a perfect paragraph for (yes...I just ended that sentence in a preposition).  Days where teachers walk around the room for a few hours and watch their kiddos take the test.  They're not allowed to help.  They're not allowed to answer questions.  They're not allowed to walk to a child that is struggling and say "you got it correct....keep going"!  They are having to be like drill sergeants watching the children and their every move.  They walk....and wait...and walk...and wait.  TIME!  And the kiddos close their booklets with a sigh of relieve.

Last year, I walked down the hallway and kiddos were crying...literally crying about these tests.  Tests that mean nothing to them.  Scores that come in the next school year when the children have already forgotten about this horrible time of year.  Teachers are crazy with anxiety because they wonder what will it mean for them....what will the district say? what will my principal say?  what do these test say about me?

And don't get me wrong...I know there's a need for accountability.  Teachers need to know where their students are....but have we come so far off he grid that we don't trust that our teachers can assess the kiddos?  Do we think that a group of people that make a booklet are more specialized than the ones actually teaching our children?  Do the people know more about my child than my child's teachers?  Do they know that one of my kiddos has so much anxiety during a test that he'll make himself sick?  Do they know that one of my kiddos might zip through a test just to end it faster so he can take a break from reading?  Do they know that one of my kiddos has to take breaks or the frustration will send him over the top?  NO!  Just his teachers know that...you know, the people that see him EVERY DAY.

I have two kiddos taking tests this year.  One in 7th grade and one in 3rd.  How in the world have I prepared my 3rd grader that last year was a time of learning and fun and this year is a world of learning and he better be getting it right on a test?!??!?!  I haven't.  I've told them that these tests are where he needs to do his best, but he doesn't need to fret over these.  This test means nothing.  This test is just for him to do his best.  He's still going to go on to the 4th grade even if he does poorly.  He's still going to be able to play sports.  He's still going to be loved by his family.  You know why I say this?  Cuz I think this testing sucks.  I mean, let's get real.  During the week of testing, we're told to make sure our child gets a good night rest and eats a healthy breakfast....if I'm a parent, then shouldn't I know that by now?  This is the time of year where my kiddos are so stressed and mornings are much harder on us because they're worried about sitting in a chair for hours.  My 9 year old needs recess...in fact, this kid of mine actually needs nap time because he goes so hard....he doesn't need to sit for an hour...or two...or three and take a test.

And my 7th grader?  Well he's already concerned about these tests because he feels that if he doesn't do his best, he'll disappoint his teachers. I KNOW the teachers he has....I KNOW they haven't told him that.  I KNOW that they love him.  I KNOW that they would not guilt my kiddo into doing his best.  But that's what testing has done to our children.  Made them workaholics...this is like their end of the year review....this kind of stress shouldn't happen with adults....and it SURELY shouldn't happen with our children.  We're making our kiddos little testing machines.  I want them to be creative human beings...let them spread their wings and fly a little....not staple wings to their backs and hold them while they go nowhere.

Testing comes in 2 1/2 weeks.  My #s are already asking about making sure we get to school on time and making sure they eat more than pop tarts or cereal....they want a hot breakfast.  Let me tell ya....we don't do that now and they're fine so I'm not going to mess with their mojo and give them something hot.  :-)  I love each and every teacher that my kiddos have.  I love that they put their heart and soul into my children.  I love how they teach them, how they love them, how they care about them.  I love that they are all committed teachers that teach for a purpose....to expand the minds of my children.  I pray that one day you can actually go back to teaching....teaching for the real reason you got into education...and not for a test!

and goes back to our life by numbers!