Today marked the end of two days of state testing for reading. The tests being administered now are different from the ones my kids had to pass just a few years ago. The longer I work in a school setting, the more aggravated I get. I’m upset with the perceived need for standardized testing. It seems to me that if we would concentrate on these skills from the very first day a child attends school there would be less need for testing. I am a product of the time when there were actually “smart” kids and “dumb” kids, often in the same classroom. When in high school, we had to decide whether we were going to college or if we were going to receive vo-tech training. Now, there are no “dumb” kids and kids need to know, before they even start high school, not only if they plan on going to college, but what their major is going to be. I just don’t get it. I know my multiplication tables, I can do math in my head, my independent thinking skills are not what they used to be, but I’ll still put them up against people half my age, and my vocabulary is dependent on multisyllabic words. Microsoft Word does not recognize the word multisyllabic and whey they search for it in their dictionary/reference book sites, they can’t find it. Now I know Bill Gates did not finish college, but he is far smarter than I will ever by and he should know the word…it shouldn’t be so difficult. I digress, though. My main point is the fact that we weren’t coddled and knew that if we didn’t learn to swim, we would sink. Now, parents put school low on the list of priorities and the kids no it. Too busy with sports to do homework, don’t worry, the teacher will understand. Vacations during the school year, no problem. Parents are teaching their children that education is not important, so there are more kids taking remedial classes in college than ever before. Businesses are complaining about the lack of writing skills in young hires. Yet we don’t focus on fundamental skills in the early years. I’m a strong believer in teaching them correctly from the beginning. My kids did not learn the parts of speech until 5th grade, which is much too late.
Despite what the Declaration of Independence states, we were not all created equal. Some of have math brains, others have science brains. A few of us have liberal arts brains. There are people who are innate artists or builders. We do not all learn the same. Some of us will never go to college. Why then, is there one test for everybody? It seems to me that the system is set up for failure, not success and that is a crying shame.
