A Tool by Any Other Name...

Tested by Testing

So, it is going to happen. I didn’t believe it, in my heart of hearts, that it would happen to my daughter; my only child.  I’m faced with the awful truth of the world we live in, and there is no turning back.

Sooner or later, parents from this point forward, must face the same- inevitable event.  Our children, whom we’ve raised with the best intentions, will be used as tools in the school, for evaluating our educators. It is happening to my child today, and I just found out, by chance.  This is happening, with no phone call home, such as we receive for pep rallies and the like; not a word informing us that, for a number of core class periods, tomorrow and next week, our children will get no content instruction in core classes and instead must take a SLO ‘test’.

After all our hard work with our school districts; our teachers, counselors, advisory committees, administrators … with our service clubs and organizations, on museum and musical field trips, with parent/teacher organizations…after years communicating with the school board, participating in budget issues, voting and teaching our children through example to respect their teachers and to honor the classroom, our children are used in a profoundly inane procedure, without alert or avenue for pardon. We have no recourse. 

We can’t take the kids out of school for the day and cuddle up with PBS and the New York Times together, in lieu of class instruction, because, apparently, the children will be made to take this SLO test when they return.  That, thanks to the State Ed Dept., who has to mollify the Governor who prefers feeding into fears, and buying into the idea that our principals, vice principals, department heads, senior teachers and superintendents cannot successfully evaluate their employees.  I had written letters last summer, and called the Governor’s office on the subject.  What more is a parent to do?  Can we make the people who want this testing pay for it directly?  Do I get any tax refund for the loss of instruction?  I’d rather they finger paint than take the test..or plant some tulip bulbs.

When my daughter was born, I imagined how I would raise her to beware, to be savvy and to be alert to the dangers of strangers.  I imaged our greatest fear would be that our child might be used as a tool, by criminals from bad neighborhoods.  Now I have to arm her against tests.