Thank you

Just a note of thanks to everyone who helped me complete this course, through your support, your interactions, and your feedback. Together, we can inspire each other to greatness! A special thanks to Nikki Thomas for being a shoulder to cry on and sounding board to bounce ideas off of, and Lawana Edwards for showing me we can do this, no matter what!

Kathy

Standardized education

A few weeks ago, my sister told me about an episode in her household the night before. It seems as though my 8 yr. niece, who participates in the “gifted” program in her school, had a complete and utter meltdown while studying for the upcoming standardized tests. There was a math problem, fully 2 grade levels above her 3^rd grade that had her stumped. She struggled with it for 2 hours before finally breaking down. My sister looked on helplessly as her daughter sobbed over her inability to solve one problem. She was finally able to get her daughter to explain why she was so upset. Her daughter replied “Because I need to know it for THE TEST! If I don’t pass THE TEST I will never get into a good college!!!!! I remind you, she’s in 3^rd grade!

This is what we have done to our students. We have placed so much pressure on them to pass “the test” that they suffer from extreme anxiety. Experts, backed by research, tell us that children need to learn by PLAYING, by DOING, by EXPERIENCING, and that using standardized testing is counterproductive, but instead of phasing it out, we are adding even MORE tests! At a time when quality education is desperately in short supply, talented and experienced teachers are leaving the field in record numbers, leaving educating to the inexperienced and the substandard.

Other countries, such as New Zealand, have realized that using uniform standards of achievement for children is a mistake. Their curriculum emphasizes each student’s unique needs, and encourages them to become lifelong learners.

I have heard the best description of our educational system come from comedienne Wanda Sykes. She correctly stated that students cram information into their brains long enough to pass the test, and then, just like shaking an Etch-A-Sketch, the information is just gone. There is no comprehension, no understanding, just facts to be regurgitated on a test paper, and forgotten immediately afterwards. If this weren’t true, shows like “Are You Smarter Than A 5^th Grader?” would not succeed, because all of the contestants would indeed be smarter than a 5^th grader.