Gameboy is at that age where they are pumping tons and tons of information in their brains and it's a wonder it doesn't all explode.
This is the grade where all those important big state tests start to come up, where it is is imperative that they learn everything and anything about taking standardized tests, so that the school can achieve above and beyond the state average and so it can be labeled with the ever coveted Exemplary status.
It's a big thing here in Texas, and it really makes my blood curdle that the fate of the public educational system lies in the determination of one big test every other year. What happened to just getting back to basics?
Wonderboy who is in special education classes also will have to take the "dumbed down" portion of the test each year. Most of the kids in his class can barely read or write not because their "dumb" but they just are incapable in some cases of comprehending a test like structure, due to various disabilities they have. Wonderboy's teacher told me they were required to give the special ed kids a standardized test as well. Last year was the first year they implemented it. I was just blown away by this, I think his teachers were just as frustrated as I was.
I know it's all for one reason and one reason alone, the almighty dollar. It really is disheartening that they would rob these kids of valid learning time to focus on testing. So that's what my kids are learning with a sprinkle of cursive writing, multiplication, and a dash of science here and there.
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2 comments:
Can I just say, "I feel your pain"? No, I don't have a child in special ed, but I am a teacher. I HATE all the legislation making us teach to the tests. "Whoever" decided that making every kid passing at grade level was the standard, had obviously never spent any time in a real school! It's ludicrous to assume that every kid is going to learn all the facts at the same time! Some never will and that's okay! It doesn't mean they can't be productive members of society just because they can't pass some stupid test made up by people who've never even set foot in a classroom!
Okay, please excuse the overuse of exclamation marks and I'll get off my soap box now...
I know how you feel. I used to work in our alternative school, and I hated the testing!!
That is why we homeschool, in East Texas. Thank God we aren't required to do yearly testing like in other states, because kids DON'T learn at the same rate, but they do learn. :-)
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