Another writing with a friend

Well, I'll go ahead and be redundant. We're doing another one of those IF writing activities. In this one, I have to cancel one aspect of my job, what would it be? Considering my woes as of late at my place of employ, my first instinct would be to yell SHOWING UP.

But, to be serious, I'd say that we've lost sight of working with children. I spend most of my day planning and working when I'm supposed to be interacting with kids and making the smarter. Politcians whine and the world watches how we handle education giving it importance. They make unilateral decisions, regardless of who or how it effects the kids....and then everyone complains about how education is a mess.

Yet, for all those whining, no one seems to want to go back in, get their hands dirty and see what is happening on the front lines. It reminds me of a President who decides to invade a soverign nation without thinking. He send in the troops, children of his people, without remorse. He then claims no victory and fights about the whole issue.

Same for education. In my home on my Disney boards, the same is true. The conservatives rally to their party's defense. But all they do is say, "it's a mess," but offer little true resolve or resolution.

Now arrive at my job. I have to give out these exams to my students as required by the state. The exams are written by experts in their fields. Makes sense when you think about it. However, when a 8 year old is expected to know a four syllable word whilst taking a science exam shows that the test was not written with an eight year old in mind. However, since this order was given down on high, you have to give the test. And watch the child fail and your money taken away. Then you have to ponder how, as a teacher, you can go on.

Take away these tests and see what happens. Take away these IEPs. Go back to doing what we did and was successful. Teaching. Reading, writing and arithematic. These were happening before. They had to modified because those ON THE OUTSIDE deemed it important. My time now with students has been completely dictacted to students. I teach to please exams and parents, not to benefit of students. And if I do what I think is correct, I'm pulled aside and requested to get back on task.

It's sad.

So what would I take away? Maybe I should the sad intervention of bearacusy on education. And replace it with honor and trust.