We're ending a grueling week of simulation testing. Testing and instruction are like fire and ice, with testing being the fire, that burns any chance of instruction! As adults, we do not have the stamina to focus on a long task, then be expected to focus even longer later in the day. So, who would think that KIDS would be able to do the same.
I don't want to get into what I think about high stakes standardized testing, but I'd say that I certainly don't l.o.v.e it.
My kids were surprisingly calm this afternoon. I was sure I was going to have to record myself saying stop talking, and just hit play when I was ready to reiterate the expectation. However, most of them wanted to earn their points, so they stayed focused. Each homeroom walked away with at least 3-4 points at the end of the period. Well, I jury is still out on the last homeroom, because they went totally wild during dismissal.
My 6th grade teacher Ms. Barnes used to wear these long sweaters, with pants that looked like they came from the 70s. I realized that I was dressed like Ms. Brown during second period, as I was conferring with a student. My pants aren't from the 70s, but they are from the early 2000s. I had on a long sweater with a shirt, with only the top button of my sweater buttoned. GREAT! Ms. Brown was the first teacher that I realized was a "real person". You know kids believe that teachers are something other than human. Once her brother came to see her at school, and they went behind mobil blackboard to talk. She later told the class that she had to give him something. In 2012, 20 years later, I still wonder WHAT did she give to him behind that blackboard. I sure hope she isn't reading this!
The bodega across the street from my school sales freshly baked Otis Spunkmeyer cookies. After I dropped my kids off for lunch, I swiftly ran across, wearing nothing but my long sweater, to get 2 freshly baked cookies. Later, my coworker asked me if I wanted anything from the bodega. Of course I do! 2 freshly baked cookies! That's a total of 4 cookies today! The last two were fresh out of the oven, and so oooey gooey! I got chocolate on my keyboard, as I was acting like a Pandora DJ for the kids!
Educationally Yours!
T.W.T
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