Today, again, I found myself in a situation where my eyes were bubbling up with tears and I had to remove myself from a meeting for a little while and try to go walk it off and regain my composure. The stress the state is putting on teachers (not to mention what is coming up for children) is beyond abusive. Honestly, as much as I feel the stress for me, I feel it even more because I am so worried about what my students are going to have to go through. I can tell you honestly that if my own children were in school, there is NO WAY I would allow them to endure this. |
My fifth-graders are only 10 years old and are going to be asked to do what the adults making these policies haven't even had to do. JUST FOR MY SUBJECT ALONE (English Language Arts) students will sit for nearly six hours of online computerized PARCC testing. That is not even including the testing they will be doing during those same times for Science and Math. So, basically, after January (although, there are still required tests being peppered around before then; they've already taken three), my fifth-graders will be test-prepping and test-hopping all the rest of the year. From one test to another to another to another to another to another. Forget learning. Forget talking about great books. Forget creating amazing pieces of writing. Forget doing authentic, powerful projects. When the Department of Education opens the testing window sometime on or after February 16th this coming year, school, as we know it, will be over and the [testing] will begin. I have never detested anyone as much in my life as I do that man [pushing the tests]. He is harming children; literally harming them and all I can do is sit back and blubber like a baby. I feel so utterly helpless.