@Mark Dohn “I Can’t Drink The Punch”
It started today: Test Prep.
On Monday, I received this monstrous, convoluted table of where I need to be and who’s class I need to cover while teachers work with groups of students. So today, at the appropriate time, I arrived at the gymnasium with 200 eighth graders. They were ushered in and sat down on the hardwood floor.
For the next thirty minutes they were verbally assaulted by the chair of our Science Department about astronomy. They were told how he helped to write the test, and that they would do better if they listened to his endless list of astronomy facts. We don’t teach to the test...we just cram for it!
A year ago I would have been positive. A team player telling the students how this was a necessary evil in education today. Twelve months later and one month from finishing my degree here at Full Sail, and I cannot stomach it any more.
I cannot live with it. I cannot condone it. Standardized testing is simply wrong. Judging kids according to their performance with a Number 2 pencil is a disservice, and it needs to end.
Mark D., I can’t agree more. I was working with a student this week that struggles with Math and when he gets in front of a standardized test, he completely freezes up. And, unfortunately there are a lot of teachers that have learned to teach to the test. It is rare prize to find a teacher with passion for learning still burning within.
I feel blessed that I found a graduate school that encourages the project based assessment style of teaching. It has allowed me to keeping that passion for learning technology burning inside me. I hope that I can ignite that flame to others teachers one at a time. I do not know what I will do with myself, when I don’t have Full Sail EMDT in my life! I know I am going to miss it!
Tracy Bockler
Photo courtesy of photos8.com
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