Ahhh...it is time for a bit of comic relief. Take a few minutes to click on this link and play this song. It will bring a smile to your face! After you have watched, please do a quick write on the blog so that we can get your reactions!
http://www.notonthetest.com/
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Now for the real reaction... Funny clip. It makes you think about what it is we are doing. The people who are "doing" are the ones who know best. Believe in what you do! Kids are kids and always will be. They are our "job security" in life!
I chuckle when I hear the song. It has a catchy beat to it and I will be singing it all day long. It is such a timey topic.
As I watch my students toil over the computer tests I am proud of their achievement whether they meet their target or not. I love the reaction when they see they have improved; no matter how big or small. But i am glad that I get to teach lots of things that are either on the test or not.
I know that I look forward to those creative days. Thank goodness we still have the arts here!!!
Thanks for the chuckle. The kids in the video looked like they were having a good time. Hearing the song the same week we are testing the kids makes it that much more entertaining. The line about the "kids scores being our scores" is a little scary. I agree with Deb, thank goodness we still have the arts at Center School.
Like others, my first response was a chuckle and sigh of relief that finally here was a humorous view of the many things that we all discuss on a regular basis. But I am haunted by so many of the points:the test is the teachers'test,the school board is controlled by No Child Left Behind, we should teach and the children should learn only what is on the test, etc. This, after hearing that a large % of high school seniors don't know in what century we fought the Civil War or even what the Bill of Rights is all about. . . As I look at containters and containers full of child centered, hands on, meaningful learning units (remember our multiage Culture for Kids, Deb and Kathy??) which are no longer taught because they are not on the test, it makes me downright sad. I'm also haunted by an administrator who says,"If it's not on the test, you're wasting your time teaching it." Alas, I guess there is nothing new under the sun, and I should sit back and enjoy the humor in this piece. So, I guess I'll do just that and keep my vacation "light and lively!"
I agree that the first response is a chuckle but when you look deeper it's not so funny anymore. We all know how important language and math are but there are so many other components to thinking that are equally as important that can so easily be missed.
As most of us have been in this field for a number of years we all recognize that the pendulum keeps swinging. We just need to wait long enough for it to swing back (hopefully with the upcoming election the swinging will start soon).
I do know that it is encouraging to be in Center School where creativity has not been totally lost. Walk around the halls and look at the walls and you will see creativity at its best.
Maybe we will be singing a new song next year!
Shhh! Don't tell anyone, but the real power of how (and sometimes what) we teach is with us, the teachers. Yes, we have to cover "what's on the test," but as educators and individuals, we must prioritize what we think is valuable for our students to learn. Everyday Math is a good program. It has raised test scores over the past several years, and I also believe I have seen an increase in the children's ability to reason mathematically over the years. I don't think many of us could argue that it has certainly raised the bar on what children are expected to know. But we all know it is a weak program in the areas of basic facts and graphing. A good teacher makes adjustments for this and moves on. We need to keep reminding ourselves, it's not the program or the test that makes better students, it's the TEACHERS! Listen to those voices inside your heads. They are speaking to you from years of experiences working with children. Don't give up those units you love so well. I am sure they cover many required state standards. Throw out the boring lessons and use your own. Ten years from now when our students are older, it is the teacher created lessons about poetry, history, and reading that the children will remember and learn most from...taking a Lewis and Clark expedition through the woods while drawing pictures and writing descriptions of fauna and living creatures, interviewing people about their careers and having parents speak to their classes about their jobs, making a story come alive through acting, costumes, and props...these are the activities our students enjoy, remember, and learn from. Keep those lessons you enjoy so much. There is a very good reason why you like it...it works and it has value. But please remember, this is a secret that all teachers must keep secured, we have the real power, because it is the TEACHERS who make a difference in the classroom. Shhhh! Don't let the administrators know that we know!
Tee hee!
Laurie, are you wearing green today? Our little Irish leprechaun is once again sharing our secrets with the world? I agree wholeheartedly with the thoughts and sentiments of Laurie. We, the teachers, are the ones who ultimately decide what is taught inside our classrooms. Our doors are open…we have NOTHING to hide! …...only exciting, enriching, creatively designed lessons to excite our students to become lifelong learners!
I agree with everyone about the funny nature of the song. Then you hear the second time and feel how sad the educational system is now. The kids in the video did a great job expressing their feelings. I played the clip for my husband and he laughed at a lot of it, and he commented on how boring school must be! I hope it doesn't come down to boredom.
Fantastic! Awesome! So true! I think that we should play this recording every morning at school before the kids arrive. That should put us in the spirit???? I also think that we as teachers can no longer sit back and take all of this stuff that's asked of us. It's time that we do something about it. We're as bad as the tests unless we use the arts, and "rationale discourse" to change the current state of affairs. I remember when my son Jon returned home after a semester spent in Japan, and said that he loved it there, except for the fact that academically, Japanese students were robots. Three years ago he said that all the Japanese do is study for the tests that they are given yearly. He said that there was no creativity, no critical thinking, no individuality. That was the biggest difference Jon saw between America vs. Japan. Now look what has happened. U.S. education is becoming more and more like Japan. Jon listened to the song by Tom Chapin, and said, "he sings the words of how I feel. What is going to become of us?" We can't, and shouldn't teach to the tests, and, as educators, I think it's time to do something about it! We don't want to educate robots, at least I hope not. I'm sorry that I ranted on about what we should do, but as you can see I have strong feelings. After all, I'm from the 70's. Have a great vacation, everyone.
I listened to the clip right before vacation, and did chuckle. As I listened again after vacation and read peer responses, the deeper meaning of the clip came through to me. Laurie, thank you for your words of wisdom. In preparing for next week's Science NECAP these past few days I am ashamed of myself. I have not only been teaching to the test, but cramming for the test!!! It has become dry and boring and meaningless. Thanks for reminding me that unless I remember to bring myself to the lessons with enthusiasm and creativity, I have wasted everyone's time.
I listened to this song for the first time right before vacation and laughed. Now, after listening to it for the second time and then reading my peer's responses, it actually brought tears to my eyes. (granted I do cry at Pepsi commercials) The passionate responses of my peers are so "dead on." Why can't administrators understand the danger of "teaching to the test?" I think that, in their hearts, they have to know it's wrong but they let other things get in the way of their good judgement. I must say I am guilty of "teaching to the test." I want my students to score well. That line in the song "your score is my score" is how I feel about my students' scores. I want to stop feeling that way. I want to get back to the creative way I used to teach when I first started in education. The empassioned responses of my peers are giving me the strength to do that. But as Laurie recommended, I'll keep it a secret.:-)
I so agree with all of you. It has a catchy tune, but there are a lot of things that are catchy that you don't want!
Do you know I actually feel like I am doing something wrong if I bake with my students. I mean, it is not the prescribed program I am supposed to be teaching, and I am not breaking everything into syllables and working on fluency, so it must be wrong.
I used to cook with my whole class on a more regular basis, along with centers, and projects centered on themes and holidays!
Laurie is right--we do hold the keys in our hands, so why are we so beaten? Where has our passion for the profession gone. Have we really stopped believing that we DO know what is best for our students?
Meredith, who is telling you that if it is not on the test it is not worth teaching. You give your students such wonderful gifts when you read to them. You give them passion and love of reading. You can't stand up in front of them and "teach" them to love reading. You have to take them there.
To realize that we are not teaching the way we want is the first step, now we need to move forward from here and reclaim our classrooms.
Hee Hee hee.....I just LOVE secrets! And, the thing is, children do, too! We have the ability to make learning fun and meaningful. Even though I couldn't see the video...computer
glitch again, I did enjoy hearing the song and reading the blog reactions of my peers.
Cute video...it may have been funny three, four, five years ago, but its humor was lost in all the testing that we expose students to and all the presure behind the testing.
I wonder if a school, district, or a state would ever step up and say "No more." No more teaching to the test, and no more presure on the staff and children to improve their testing scores by 14% so that we can meet AYP.
When I first started teaching, our goal was to create "life long learners." I would put together lessons that stimulated students, not rushed them through all the themes or units. Now, it seems that we are creating life long testers.
Who will be the first to say "No More!"????
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