Unite to defeat the PARCC
I published this in February and decided to update it now that I have more of an audience...and I noticed that many schools are testing after spring break. UGH!
I don't have to take the PARCC but my thoughts and prayers are with all those kids who do. As I work at my home office and look out the window at the beautiful beginnings of spring, I can't help but wish for those kids that they could enjoy it as well instead of taking a stupid test. Yes, it is a stupid test. Unfortunately, though, our students are the ones who feel stupid, even before they take it.
Last month, I heard, almost daily, discussions about it on my favorite radio station as parents called or emailed in, frantically trying to find ways to help their kids deal with it. They were looking for help but instead were getting the run-around from the schools and the PED. They re looking to someone with expertise and don't realize that they themselves have power, that they don't have to put up with the crap anymore.
Most parents want the schools to provide a safe place for their kids to learn. They don't care as much about where the US stands compared to other countries in standardized test scores; they care about making sure their kids learn so that they can live good lives.
And yet, parents have been conditioned to look to state and federal authorities for direction rather than the teachers who know their kids and have the expertise to facilitate their learning, and teachers have been belittled and undermined along the way.
Teachers, take your power back! Parents, help them! There are many similarities between teachers and parents, mostly in the role they play in children's lives. Too often, parents assume they know as much about teaching as the teachers and teachers assume they know as much about parenting.
Work together to capitalize on what you can accomplish together, and learn from each other as you let the other play the role they were meant to play. You both know the child but there are differences in how you deal with that child, with different purposes. So help each other out.
One last thing to parents and students...there is no prison for people who refuse to take a test. Who cares if the rules say that it's okay for a parent to opt their kid out of a test but a student can't opt himself out? I say that is exactly what needs to happen! Students need to walk out. A message must be sent and understood. If sent, it is a message that could be the beginning of an educational revolution.
Since I first published this, I have seen many students in many NM school districts walk out of the PARCC. I have read thoughtful, insightful letters from students to editors of local newspapers, and I have listened to my favorite radio program for continued conversations. Go New Mexico!
I don't have to take the PARCC but my thoughts and prayers are with all those kids who do. As I work at my home office and look out the window at the beautiful beginnings of spring, I can't help but wish for those kids that they could enjoy it as well instead of taking a stupid test. Yes, it is a stupid test. Unfortunately, though, our students are the ones who feel stupid, even before they take it.
Last month, I heard, almost daily, discussions about it on my favorite radio station as parents called or emailed in, frantically trying to find ways to help their kids deal with it. They were looking for help but instead were getting the run-around from the schools and the PED. They re looking to someone with expertise and don't realize that they themselves have power, that they don't have to put up with the crap anymore.
Most parents want the schools to provide a safe place for their kids to learn. They don't care as much about where the US stands compared to other countries in standardized test scores; they care about making sure their kids learn so that they can live good lives.
And yet, parents have been conditioned to look to state and federal authorities for direction rather than the teachers who know their kids and have the expertise to facilitate their learning, and teachers have been belittled and undermined along the way.
Teachers, take your power back! Parents, help them! There are many similarities between teachers and parents, mostly in the role they play in children's lives. Too often, parents assume they know as much about teaching as the teachers and teachers assume they know as much about parenting.
Work together to capitalize on what you can accomplish together, and learn from each other as you let the other play the role they were meant to play. You both know the child but there are differences in how you deal with that child, with different purposes. So help each other out.
One last thing to parents and students...there is no prison for people who refuse to take a test. Who cares if the rules say that it's okay for a parent to opt their kid out of a test but a student can't opt himself out? I say that is exactly what needs to happen! Students need to walk out. A message must be sent and understood. If sent, it is a message that could be the beginning of an educational revolution.
Since I first published this, I have seen many students in many NM school districts walk out of the PARCC. I have read thoughtful, insightful letters from students to editors of local newspapers, and I have listened to my favorite radio program for continued conversations. Go New Mexico!
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