With the passing of Labor Day weekend, we celebrate the conclusion of summer and focus our attention on the start of school.
Public schools are big news these days. There is a national dialogue about the need for improvement in our public schools and a complicated new process for evaluating teachers.
Since this new process reduces a teacher’s value to a numerical score, we can assume it probably isn’t a good thing for teacher/student relationships. In addition, parents will have to deal with the increased emphasis on mandated standardized testing in their children’s classrooms.
During a time when public education has become the topic of national reform, there is more attention on our schools than ever before. Education is getting a lot of press, and it isn’t all pretty. The headlines report tight budgets are leading school boards to cut teachers and academic programs, class sizes are increasing to save money, New York is mandating more testing, and on and on.
Enough already! Does anyone have something nice to say? Talk about taking the joy out of going to school! What happened to our Norman Rockwell painting, and when did it become more akin to “The Scream”?
Whether or not you believe this is a nightmare, it is time to start screaming. Your schools have been hijacked by state officials, ambitious politicians and someone called Pearson.
Do you know who Pearson is? Pearson is the test making, for-profit company that has a $32 million contract with the state of New York. Speaking of Pearson, have you heard the one about the pineapple and the hare? No, it is not a joke. It refers to an actual Pearson eighth-grade reading test question involving a nonsensical story about a talking pineapple. If you look up this story online you will get a big laugh, but then you will have to stop laughing when you remember that the state has a five-year contract with this company. By the way, this anecdotal account of a bizarre test question is all you’re likely to ever know about the contents of any Pearson test. All tests are strictly confidential, and actual test papers are not to be shared with parents, teachers or administrators. Why? Because that five-year contract says so.
Test integrity is serious business, as evidenced by the newly formed Test Security Unit. A mere $2.1 million increase in state funding will get this new agency off the ground so they can take care of all those demons that compromise test results. Believe it or not, one duty of the TSU is to analyze erasures! Come on, if we don’t laugh, we will cry!
So where does that leave you as you prepare to send your child back to school this September? Get involved, attend PTA and school board meetings, speak up and ask lots of questions. Scream if you have to, but make sure you are heard!
Meanwhile on the home front, keep a positive attitude that is contagious and marked with a sense of humor. Give your child an encouraging pep talk at the start of school each morning. Make the message simple and consistent: “You are fine. I know you will always do your best. I am proud of you. And if something goes wrong at school, unless the sky is falling, hang in there and work it out. I have confidence in you. I promise when you get home we will make time to sit eye to eye and knee to knee to talk about your day. I love you.”
If you have questions related to this article, please email them to [email protected].
Felicia Bordick and her colleagues, Carol Smith and Joyce Thomas, are authors of “Kitchen Table Time: Recipes for School Success.” Please feel free to contact Felicia Bordick with comments, questions, or suggestions at [email protected].
