1.25.2009

Exactly How I Feel

“What was once educationally significant, but difficult to measure, has been replaced by what is insignificant and easy to measure. So now we test how well we have taught what we do not value.”
Arthur L. Costa


Thanks to the ladies at Two Writing Teachers from bringing this to my attention.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://b-lofreezing.wnymedia.net/blogs/2009/01/12/nclb-gone-wild-standardized-testing-gets-a-pep-rally/

K -- this is my second store so to speak exactly the same b.s. we're talking about. B-lo Public Schools even had a short video of the Pep rally ( can you spell pathos ? -- kids chanting Watch me take my E-L-A !! watch me score a 4 today !!! but even they must have realized how lame it was and they removed it from the site !! Great hearing from u again..Peace

Elizabeth said...

It sounds like now, "no child is left behind."

My 12-year-old stepdaughter has an hour's worth of homework, tops, in seventh grade. When I was in seventh grade, I began homework at 4pm, and didn't stop until I went to bed at night. Things sure are different now.

Elizabeth said...

(Thanks for your lovely comment today.)

teach people not books said...

r/m-tiring of blogger? i'm such a creature of habit there's no way i'm switching. apparently right now my habit is not posting very often.
that's sickening, the chant and all. i'm just tired of spending valuable instructional time on teaching students how to write in some b.s. made of form of writing that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world but the paper reality that is the NJASK. they've even made up their own categories. but my thought is, if they can think, and they are reading and writing all year in authentic ways, they're going to do fine. i hope i'm not being naive.

enc--o i hope you didn't take my comment as an expectation to hear from you! i just wanted to let ya know i was thinking of you.
we have a district-wide policy that homework can take no more than 15 minutes per subject per night. i try only to give it unless it is essential. part of the issue is the immense amount of other crap parents force or coerce their kids into doing. it's useless to assign too much, because in so many cases it doesn't get done. it's a tough issue, for sure. you're right, no child is left behind--they're all getting their subjects delivered in little, testable boxes. gr...