How many readers of this blog have an opinion about standardized testing within our schools? Do you want the testing to stop altogether? Do you think students, (and teachers for that matter) should not be judged, categorized, pitted against each other, or “sized up” for possible promotion due to a set of state test scores which measure the exact same skills for reading, math, and science across the board? Are you a teacher who is expected to differentiate instruction inside of the classroom while making sure all of your students are prepared for a very un-differentiated standardized test to measure their placement and growth? Does the possibility of moving up in the academic world have you stressed, because you fear if your students do not perform well then you will look horrible as a teacher, despite the amazing relationships you have with your students in the classroom every day?
All of these questions are very reasonable ones which could easily get a teacher extremely frazzled about his or her job as a teacher. Do you often beg the question, “Why, oh why do we have to teach these specific standards and skills each day every day?” Well here is the simple answer: IT’S YOUR JOB! Whether we allow ourselves to become stressed out about everything or not, our job of being the leader in our classrooms to initiate and spearhead academic and social growth is what teachers are paid to do! Is it a highly underpaid profession? Perhaps. Okay, a big fat yes! But then again, plenty of careers are grossly underpaid, so what can you do?
Think of a sweet child who dreams of becoming a life-saving heroic doctor when he or she grows up. The pictures conjured in little minds of what being a wonderful healer of the sick probably looks like, usually does not include being on call at all hours of the day and night, having to miss special family holidays, or doing everything medically correct for a patient only to have them leave this Earth anyway despite the best of efforts. However, that is the job of a doctor, for better or worse!
Teachers, or any other profession in which one is hoping to make a true difference in another’s life, your job includes plenty of aspects you probably wish you could change. The most popular thing teachers wanting to change is all of this testing that students (again, and teachers) must complete in order to decide where you are in the big game of “college and career readiness.” A very famous saying that has been circulating through public school communities in past several years quotes as follows: “Students don’t learn anything anymore. Teachers just have to teach to the test.” Why has no one realized that school has ALWAYS been a place where teachers teach students what they need to know in order to pass a typically time-consuming test to determine mastery for a specific set of expected standards? From the earliest of the early days at school, teachers teach students what the students need to learn, and then voila, the students are tested! This is not some new age thing….the standards and skills might have changed over the years, but the concept of teaching students what they need to know on the next test has never wavered! Teachers are always teaching students skills, strategies, and standards on which they will be tested! Furthermore, the results of those tests drive teaching. Some students ace this, while they fail at that, so teachers have to differentiate teaching to take their sweet students to the next level.
So, suit up, boot up, and stop fretting over where you or your kids will fall on the next “fall line-up.” Focus on growing your kids this school year, and please don’t forget to allow yourself to grow right along with them. Is it easy to stress? Yes, especially if you are competitive and want to be the best teacher in your school! 🙂 But worry not! Do your best and your best is good enough!
Teachers, good luck, God bless, and God speed for this school year! Remember why you became a teacher in the first place. You wanted to make a difference in the life of a child, right? Focusing on a particular set of skills, standards, and strategies is a part of that job, which fortunately allows plenty of opportunities to make a difference in a child’s life in more ways than you can imagine!
Just My Perspective 