This
week I had an opportunity to work with teachers. When I asked them to raise their hands if
they became teachers to teach students to practice for tests, no hands were
raised. Nevertheless, these educators
were full of questions and anxiety about the new testing system in our state.
In
last week’s blog post, I suggested a three pronged approach to surviving test preparation. Though there were no public comments on this
blog, I received a multitude of private comments from readers around the
country (and one from another country), and I also spoke with a number of
readers in person. As it turns out—it’s
rather controversial to discuss test preparation and how much we prefer not to
do it but feel there are no alternatives.
As
parents, we are concerned of the consequences for our children if we speak up
and request different teaching approaches beyond test prep. As teachers and administrators, we are
fearful of the consequences of not meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP). As community members we bemoan the state of
education and the lack of life skills students have as they enter college and
the workplace.
What
exactly can we do to make sure our kids have what they need to be successful in
life?
Parents
·
listening
to our kids tell us what they are reading, learning, and exploring
·
talking
with our kids about what we are reading
·
encouraging
schools to continue arts, music, language, physical education, leadership and
technology programs as part of the school day
·
providing
opportunities to learn outside of the classroom by visiting parks, museums,
libraries, music venues, and historical sites
·
volunteering
in schools
·
supporting
teachers who have tough jobs with large class sizes
·
judging
the quality of schools on factors beyond test scores (i.e. effective teaching
practices & enrichment programs)
·
voting
for political leaders who believe in education beyond preparing for tests
Teachers and
education leaders
·
reading,
understanding, and implementing required standards and best practices in
instruction
·
keeping
test practice activities at a minimum
·
providing
kids opportunities to learn for the sake of learning
·
offering
programs which support creativity, critical thinking, communication and
collaboration
·
judging
the quality of schools on factors beyond test scores (i.e. effective teaching
practices & enrichment programs)
·
voting
for political leaders who believe in education beyond preparing for tests
Community
members
·
listening
to needs within schools
·
contributing
time and resources to schools and after school programs
·
partnering
with local schools to provide opportunities to kids through internships,
mentoring programs, and job shadowing
·
judging
the quality of schools on factors beyond test scores (i.e. effective teaching
practices & enrichment programs)
·
voting
for political leaders who believe in education beyond preparing for tests
Let’s
continue the conversation and collaboration.
It’s what we, as adults, do in real life and what our kids need to be
able to do, too.
