Testing season is here for my students. Now is crunch time for them. As their teacher, am feeling the pressure to drill, drill, drill. This is not my style. I swore to myself at the start of the school year that I will teach at a rate (and with a style) that is suitable for my students. It is hard to strike a balance between 'finishing the syllabus' and teaching conceptually. I think that generally, it gets better for me each year, because I learn how to merge certain topics, sequence my activities, and group the students in ways to improve the weaker ones.
I do not have the power to say 'NO' to all of this National testing. My poor students are stressing about it. But at least, it is not as stressful as before. I know that I am still here to teach and not to teach for a test, I am teaching for the children. Maybe, one day, an alternative method of performance data collection will come along that will be less intrusive...
2 comments:
To heck with the test!!! It is just a window in time.
I feel badly for teachers and parents with all the pressure and hope for more understanding days ahead. You can't test in quality! Carolyn
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