Squeaker rides a special education bus that comes right to our front door. Only today it didn't come.
She came back in the house shortly after 9:00am, so I finished loading the dishwasher and ran upstairs to find some shoes. It's a ten minute drive and I got her to school at 9:13am.
After letting her out of the car, I was stopped by a woman in the parking lot where I was given a very one-sided "talking to" that went like this:
Her: "We're doing testing for the next three weeks." (holding up the requisite number of fingers in case I was dense, I guess)
Me: "I know."
Her: "Now I have to pull her test. You need to have her here on time."
Me: "I'm sorry. The bus didn't come this morning."
Her: "It's very important that everyone is here on time."
Me: "Yes, but the bus didn't come."
Her: "9:05 is really the cut-off."
Me: "Well, sorry. The. Bus. Didn't. Come."
If I had written it down she would have stamped it with a frowny face and written meany things in insensitive red ink. Zero tolerance for circumstances-beyond-our-control at this school. This was not a taking-turns kind of converstation either. She just plowed right on through.
Sorry, Lady. More bad news. She'll miss testing tomorrow too. I've had an appointment set with her new psychiatrist for months before I even heard about the testing. No way we're missing it for testing which really has nothing to do with my child's actual progress and education anyway.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I HATE TESTING WEEKS!!! yes, I know I am shouting. The amount of annoyance the school visits upon our lives is amplified by ten fold for testing weeks. I think they kill a tree per household just to send home all those helpful notes about feeding your child a nourishing breakfast and getting them to bed on time. Hello, you are either responsible people who do that for your children any way or you are not responsible people so why would you change just for the two weeks of testing? Duh!
ReplyDeleteMy duaghter goes to the top magnet high school in the state and the lack of buy in by the kids to the testing is ridiculous, they talk about making patterns on their answer pages with the little dotsthey have to color in, or sleepingthrough the first 35 minutes of the test and then randomly filling out their answer sheet in the last 10 minutes. And these are the kids who usually care. So haow could any of the testing possibly be accurate! It is a huge waste of time and money and does not help the kids learn anything. And don't get me started on teachingto the test... I could rant for hours :-)
Beth
You're right...those notes are so irritating. Ok, so now that you've sent me a bunch of notes, I guess I'll go ahead and feed my kids breakfast. Hadn't thought of that before.
ReplyDeleteAs far as teaching to the test, even my fourth grader's teacher has complained about that one. It would be great if the goals of our schools were to actually educate their students. In CA, all the goals are geared toward taking the test.
It's hard to keep all my snarky comments to myself when the notes and practice tests come home from school.
And I found out today that she wasn't late for the testing at all. They actually start at 9:15. So there.
ReplyDeleteMy high-school age daughter, who normally does very well in school, says she hurries through the test and then naps at the end. She's bored beyond belief this week as they drop a lot of regular activities for testing.
I know this post was from about a month ago, but I can't help but respond! First, I should say "hello"... this is Erin Craig...you may remember me as your previous babysitting charge many moons ago in San Marcos, CA. :) My dad told me about your blog, and I decided to check it out. You two were, after all, my favorite babysitters in the whole wide world! :)
ReplyDeleteI love reading through your blog! It would seem that God has you on a grand adventure!
But, in the defense of the education system and teachers everywhere (of which I am one--I now live in the D.C. area and teach 3rd grade)...
Teaching to the test isn't all bad.
1. Having standards and benchmarks helps teachers pay more attention to clear expectations for all students.
2. They determine basic concepts along with developmentally appropriate levels to attain these learnings.
3. They have the potential to increase student achievement.
4. They hold teachers and administrators accountable to actually teaching something.
5. They provide guidelines for curriculum and teaching to ensure that students will have access to knowledge for future success.
6. They reflect shared norms and knowledge about what all students should know.
So, you see...teaching to the test isn't all bad. Students have to learn the stuff, no?
Not that testing isn't without it's potential problems, but it has benefits that people sometimes fail to even look for. And though it was a rough morning and you could have done without the lecture about having your kid at school on time, cut the teachers some slack...we're just trying to do our jobs.
Oh, and for the record... some parents feed their children breakfast, but you'd be shocked at how many of my kids stay up until all hours of the night and don't eat breakfast. The notes are simply an effort to help remedy some of that...if not forever, then maybe for a week? Even if it does waste a tree... :)