Reflective Teaching, Day 30: Facing Fears

Day 30--What would you do (as a teacher) if you weren’t afraid?

I look at my teaching life and see a lot of things I could fear, but I realize that I cannot let my fears overrun my wisdom and faith if I want to advance instead of retreat.  I have to fight the paralyzing effects of fear.

As I contemplate what fears I have about teaching, I run the gamut from silliness (showing only movies for the rest of the year without the fear of reprimand)  to poor judgement (saying exactly what I have always wanted to say to an apathetic parent without the fear of reprisal) to illegality (smacking an annoying student over the head without fear of repercussion).

So what would I do if I weren't afraid?  Would I chuck the standardized test prep out the window because I know that the students cannot be judged by a blanket test that tells us more about the state of their minds on the day of the test than whether or not I have taught them?  Would I take a stand against the pressures of administration, school board, or even community in order to hold my ground on curriculum matters?  Would I try some out-of-the box teaching style that scares me because it is so different from what I'm comfortable with?

Fear is a paralyzing thing, as the quote says.  I fear that I'm not good enough.  I fear that I will not make a difference.  I fear that I will not connect with my students in a meaningful way that makes them want to learn.  I fear that am not living out my calling when I allow my fears to govern my life.

While I believe in Roosevelt's quote about how fear is paralyzing, I also know the cure.  Love casts out fear.  I teach high schoolers who often make loving them difficult, but I do.  Teaching this level of student is my passion.  If I remember why I teach these kids, my fears fade in the face of that pure light.  I see these kids who are filled with their own insecurities and worries and fears every day.  

I must let my love for them and this job overcome any fears I have about my ability.  I have to throw that fear out and be willing to be vulnerable about who I am in order to connect with the students who are feeling so vulnerable.  I must cast away any trepidation so I may do my best job each and every day.

Reflective Teaching, Day 28: Who's in charge: curriculum or technology?

Day 28--Respond: Should technology drive curriculum, or vice-versa?

The quick answer is no, technology should not drive curriculum. It is a tool, not the whole kit and caboodle.

The longer, more involved answer that I don't have the time to answer (nor do I fully HAVE the answer) is that technology has become intertwined in education and curriculum since the first day someone brought a bit of papyrus and a reed pen with ink made from some berries to a teacher's lecture. Each innovation in science or technology brought with it new inventions to help the teacher teach and the students learn.

But, the simple answer is still the best. Whether the most modern technology a teacher has is a piece of chalk and a slate or the most up-to-date interactive Smartboard with all the newest apps, the technology is a tool the teacher uses to facilitate his/her teaching and the students' learning. It shouldn't be the end all and be all.

It is important for us teachers to learn about the technological advances; the students we teach, after all, are digital natives; they've never lived in a world without Smartphones or personal computers. It's the "age of the Geek, baby" (to quote Hardison from Leverage), and we are seeing technology advance at an ever-increasing speed with which, unfortunately, schools cannot keep pace.

Despite the importance for us to be as up-to-date as our budgets and comprehension can handle, it is still the content that is important. We still need to teach math and science and language arts and social studies and fine arts and practical arts and physical education and all the rest so that our students can be productive members of society. How we use the tools available to us is secondary, and that is a good thing to remember.

Reflective Teaching: Day 26, Go-To Resources

Day 26--What are your three favorite go-to sites for help/tips/resources in your teaching?

I go to a number sites for help. I have mentioned several in this blog series already. In Day 13 I talked about several edtech tools I use to help me with my teaching. In Day 22 I talked about my PLN and mentioned several places I go to for help.

In addition to those, I like EnglishForEveryone.org.  It's a site filled with printable grammar worksheets.  I like it because it lets me get good quality resources for free.  Why reinvent the wheel if you need a quick worksheet for a lesson or if the kids finish their work early when you have a sub?

Another site I go to for resources is Teachers Pay Teachers.  This site is a great place to get help all the while helping out another teacher by purchasing a lesson or power point some teacher has worked hard to create.  It's a win-win.

A third place I go for helps and tips for my teaching is Tammy's Technology Tips for Teachers.  I've gotten a lot of technological tips from this site.  I saw her in person at a Tech conference, and I have used her website ever since as a resource.

Reflective Teaching: Day 21, Hobbies/Interests in the Classroom

Day 21--Do you have other hobbies/interests that you bring into your classroom teaching? Explain.

I have a few hobbies, but crocheting and making cards are not part of my content area. I do like singing, and I often incorporate it into my classroom as participation. The kids enjoy the random songs we burst into almost as much as they enjoy the extra points they can earn when they do.  I'm also a bit of a fangirl, so I enjoy using examples from my favorite shows and movies in my teaching.  The kids find it amusing, too, when I geek out about some of the same shows they like.

One of my interests is writing, and that I do indeed incorporate into my classroom teaching. I like it when the kids and I share our thoughts about writing. In my creative writing class I do the same prompts that they do and share them to show that it's a process. If I'm not afraid to share my rough drafts, they feel more comfortable in sharing theirs.

Another interest is reading, and I enjoy bringing that to the classroom.  So many of my students claim to not like reading (heartbreaking, I admit), but when we start talking about our literature, most of them begin to realize that the reason they didn't like it was that they hadn't taken the time to really understand it.  We talk about reading strategies and the tricks that good readers use to help them understand what they're reading.  We practice those strategies until they, too, see that maybe reading is not as bad as they thought.

Reflective Teaching: Day 17, Challenges in Education

Day 17--What do you think is the most challenging issue in education today?

The most challenging issue in education today is having to do more with less. I don't know if that is a new issue; I rather think it isn't. We go into this profession because we feel called to bring knowledge to the next generation.  Most of us go into this career to make a difference.  Few become teachers assuming we'll make a lot of money.  In spite of low salaries and long hours, most of us welcome the ups and downs of the school year.  However, we public school teachers are facing extreme pressure to push our students harder in order to match the scores set by students in other nations while at the same time getting less support from the public.

School districts all over the US are tightening their monetary belts, and that increases the challenge in education. I know people who think that education gets enough financial help, and if only they (read: schools, school boards, departments of education) would manage their money better everything would be okay. That is likely true. However, that thinking does not help the teacher in the trenches with an over-large class of students who are reading below grade level. The resources that might have been there in the past to help have dwindled to trickling. The school that used to pay for after-school tutoring can no longer afford to, yet the teacher is still expected to offer tutoring. The teacher used to get a decent supply budget, but now she is finding that she spends almost $1000 a year for basic classroom supplies out of her own pocket. True, she wouldn't have to do that, but then there would be kids in her classes who didn't have paper or pencils or resource books or a healthy snack when they needed it.

Pressure to excel adds to the challenge in education with test scores becoming the litmus test of teacher ability. High standards in education are absolutely a good thing; however, when a teacher's job is on the line because of how well his students do on some standardized test that they do not have any personal stake in, that's not a good thing.  Too often the students do not care about how well they do on those tests because they are not held accountable for their scores.  The teacher is, however.  Because of this, teachers find themselves spending more and more time prepping their kids for that high-stakes test.  Especially in smaller districts where the poverty level is high (and that is often judged by the free and reduced lunch percentage), teachers are expected to reach almost impossible standards with students who are more worried about whether they have enough to eat than whether they master the content.

With less support, we face more challenges.  These challenges are not going away any time soon, so those of us in education must gird ourselves for the battles we are bound to face.  Luckily, we teachers are good at doing more with less.  Whether we should have to be good at that is an issue for another day.

Reflective Teaching: Day 16, Superpowers!

Day 16--If you could have one superpower to use in the classroom, what would it be and how would it help?

I would want superpowers for lots of reasons.  I'd love to have the ability to move things with my mind especially if I've just settled myself on the couch with a TV tray full of papers to grade only to find that I left my pen on the table across the room.  Of course, that one would be a superpower for use at home, not in the classroom.

I would enjoy being able to transport myself to school from my house instantaneously so I would be able to sleep longer and avoid the traffic.  It would also be nice to be able to get papers graded in a flash so I could enjoy relaxing evening at home during the school year.  Wait... those are also for not in the classroom.

Okay, if I am serious about a power I'd want in the classroom, I would want one that deals with time.  I'd love to be able to manipulate time so that a lesson lasts exactly the amount of time so that the students don't get bored, but also just the right amount of time so that the students get the most amount of learning done.  Sometimes, even after so many years as a teacher, I don't always time things correctly.  I want to use all the time from bell to bell, but some classes move through the material faster than you planned, and some take forever over the same material.  Yes, I think I would like to be able to make the class last just the right amount of time for optimum learning.

What spider do I need to get bitten by, or which gamma-ray array do I need to be radiated by, or which scientist do I need to be "discovered" by in order for me to get that superpower?  Sign me up.

Reflective Teaching: Day 15, Strengths

Day 15--Name three strengths you have as an educator.

Three strengths I have as an educator:

1. Content knowledge--I love my content: English Language Arts.  I have enjoyed reading and writing for as long as I can remember.  Analyzing literature for themes and deep thoughts, writing fiction and nonfiction of varying genres, using proper grammar--presenting all that information to my students so that they, too, can get the same joy from the written word as I do is one of my strengths as an educator.
2. Willing to learn and try new things--My grandfather used to tell us that a day's not been wasted if you've learned something.  When we can learn how to help our students grasp our material in a better way (or deeper in a way that we already knew), or when we can learn how to use a technology that helps us do our jobs better, that's a great thing, and I think that is one of my strengths.
3. Desire that students succeed--When a teacher knows what a student can do, she can inspire the student to do even more.  Sometimes the teacher is the only one in the student's corner--not even the student is always in his or her own corner.  My students always know I am their loudest cheerleader even as I correct their papers and push them to better scholarship; my desire that my students succeed is one of my best strengths as their teacher.

Reflective Teaching: Day 14, Feedback for Learning

Day 14--What is feedback for learning, and how well do you give it to students?

Feedback for learning is one of those new "it phrases" in education, but it's been around for a long time.  Of course, people are now are telling us that data says how teachers have given feedback for generations (the grade, the "good job," the "you could do more," or the sticker) is not enough.  It's not helpful.  That kind of feedback is not "for learning" because it doesn't make the student think differently about his/her work or do any kind of self-assessment.

I guess I have a hard time understanding that.  When I was in school, the feedback given at the top of the page always had me doing some self-assessment.  If it was a good grade, I felt validated that my hard work had borne fruit.  If it was a "you could do more" then I looked at my work to see what I had not done to fulfill the assignment.  I still have some of the scratch-and-sniff stickers that my elementary teachers gave me; I attached them to a folder.  They were badges of honor and pride that I showed my friends, and I kept that portion of that Critter Sitter folder (see picture) because it was covered with the proof that I was doing the right thing by doing what was expected of me as a student.

Somewhere along the line something changed and now that kind of feedback is not enough.  Feedback for learning is giving feedback that will not discourage a student while at the same time showing him/her what he/she needs to do better next time.  It can come in many forms, but all studies agree it should be timely, specific, and focus on the positive.

Timely: When you teach high school English, as I do, it can be hard to give feedback beyond the grade or the rubric or the now-frowned-upon "Good job!" because I teach four sections of the same class, and that means I have over 80 pieces of work each time something gets handed in.  I try to be timely in returning the work, but sometimes I'm not as good at that as I would like.

Specific: Adding specific comments to over 80 English II essays and 20 Creative Writing poems in a night (or even over the weekend) is sometimes hard to do.  I try to do it, but sometimes it's difficult to weigh the need for cleaning/laundry/dishes/personal time/catching up on sleep with the time that it takes to write specific feedback about the student's work on each paper or poem.  So, I'm still working on that.

Focus on the positive: I really try to do this beyond the "Way to Go" or "Nice" or even the smiley face.  This is when I'd love to be able to just put a sticker on the paper and be done.  I know that I'm supposed to avoid just marking the errors in a paper because that will make the student feel defeated.  I know that I'm supposed to point out the good things the student did to encourage him/her.  This is where I have the most issues in this feedback for learning, though.  I am still working on a way to make the student not feel defeated while at the same time showing him/her what he/she did wrong so that next time he/she can do better.

So if I were to rank my success at giving feedback for learning, I would say that I am still working on it.  Do I get a sticker for that?

Searching for Ponies...

A person once defined positivity this way:  two little girls were shown two identical rooms filled with... manure.  One little girl folded her arms, stuck out her bottom lip, and began crying.  The other little girl gasped and jumped into the room, digging into the nasty-smelling stuff with joyous abandon.  When she was asked why she was doing that, she replied: "Well, with all this poo, there must be a pony in here somewhere!"

Sometimes in education, what we have is a lot of poo. We have meetings.  We have meetings ABOUT meetings. We have deadlines.  We have ofttimes conflicting standards coming at us from the local, state, and federal governments.  We have to have 100% of our children at or above grade level in all areas.  We have to follow rules and regulations set down by school boards or government agencies who often don't know much about the daily business of teaching.  We have to make sure that each of the students is testing at high levels, even when those students don't care about the tests, because those test scores may determine whether or not we get rehired.  We have to create life-long learners out of students who only live in the moment.  We have to... well, shovel a lot of poo.

And no one likes to shovel poo.  I guess there could be a few people out there whose job it is to shovel poo around and they wake up each morning thinking... "Hooray! I get to shovel poo!".... but on the whole, none of us like that job.  It becomes exceedingly easy to complain about the smell, the grossness, the very baseness of the whole thing.

I can look at the pile of essays on my desk, the inbox a mile long, the calendar overflowing with IEP or 504 meetings during my prep time, and various and sundry required trainings and think, "How can I possibly get this all done and still have a life?"  I can fold my arms, stick out my bottom lip, and cry.  (And, to be honest, I sometimes I do...I don't claim to be Little Mary Sunshine all the time.)  OR I can take a deep breath and plunge in to all the muck with the hope that all this muck is just covering up the very real possibility that I will find a pony (metaphorically).

The pony we find in that educational muck might be the student who changes his attitude from apathetic to interested because he finally has a plan for his future after doing that research project.  Or we might find the pony in the girl who was so standoffish and rude but who has since become one of the sweetest girls in your class because you took that extra time to find out what was up with her and helped her through it.  It may take a lot of digging through poo to find, but if we're willing to put on our boots (sometimes hip-waders) and grab our shovels, we will find that all that hard, stinky, back-breaking work was worth it.

Reflective Teaching: Day 13, Edtech Tools in the Classroom

Day 13--Name the top edtech tools that you use on a consistent basis in the classroom, and rank them in terms of their perceived (by you) effectiveness.

As an edtech "newbie" I am still working on becoming more fluent with the burgeoning educational opportunities, apps, features, and general lollapalooza that is the edtech universe.  If I am honest, I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the different ways we teachers can now connect our students with educational technology.  And in the face of all the possibilities, I tend to take things slowly. So I don't jump in the the edtech pool deep end; I wade.  So here are the edtech tools I use in my classroom (and a couple at the end that I am researching) in order of effectiveness (and, not so coincidentally the order in which I found them).

It started out with Google Chrome.  Our school wrote a grant to get more computers into our students' hands; thus four of our teachers were able to get classroom sets of Chromebooks and some Google Training.  It was eye-opening to see all the ways we could use these netbooks in more ways than just using the Chromebooks as word processors.  I use Google Docs/Drive, Forms, Sheets, etc.. in my classroom all the time.  I love the ease with which the students can take quizzes with the Forms (and I can grade those quizzes with the Flubaroo script in minutes and have data about mastery).  I've used these tools for a couple years now, so I feel that these are the most effective tools I use.  I know using a netbook is not a huge leap into all things edtech, but I feel that it is a good basis to then use others.

Once I was using the Chromebooks daily, I found CollaborizeClassroom, a contained chatroom-like platform to get and track student feedback to lessons, questions, polls, etc... There is a topic library for you to browse from or add to, and the kids enjoy seeing what their peers post as feedback to their posts.  The site sends you weekly activity reports, too, so you can see in a glance what the students have been doing.  I want to incorporate this even more as more features are available.   Webinars are available, too, which I like because they help me swim with confidence deeper into that edtech pool.

I also love Quizlet.com as a great study help. It gets the kids to study vocabulary and facts without it feeling like studying.  This online collection of flashcards allows the student flexibility to access his/her classroom content online wherever, even on Facebook.  I can upload our spelling and vocabulary lists, or specialized academic vocabulary terms for specific units into a classroom, and the kids learn the terms and definitions by playing games or taking tests.  To save time, I can even use other people's lists and upload them to my classes if they cover the same things I do.

I then found a great classroom management tool: InstantClassroom.  I wanted a way to get all the kids involved in class discussions offline.  Too often you have only those three kids who volunteer answers and all the other kids allow those three to do all the answering.  If you want to involve all the kids, you have to call on them, and too often just going around the room student by student means the students pay attention only when they see you're coming to them.  So...the key is to do it randomly.  There are lots number of offline ways to do this-- popsicle sticks with their names, a checklist, or deck of cards to name a few--but what about online?  Voila!  I saw this tool one day while I was browsing Pinterest (I'll talk more about this edtech tool...yes, edtech...in a moment).  I loved the idea of the random name generator.  This way the kids can't anticipate who I'm going to call on next, so they are forced to pay more attention.  It is also equal... everyone has to participate.

Pinterest is also a tool I use a lot (though not usually at school or in the classroom) when looking for information and ideas.  Sure, I originally went to this online "scrapbook" to keep track of recipes, craft blogs, and DIY ideas.  However, I quickly found that I could also get ideas about teaching tools, websites, and technology.   I could also get ideas from others who have similar interests and follow their boards.  This may be an unorthodox way to have a Professional Learning Network, but with so many Pinners with boards about teaching and education, I have found any number of really great classroom helps.

I am more than wading now; I'm swimming but am not yet in the deep end.  I like to still have the ability to touch my foot to the bottom until I'm totally comfortable.  So far the edtech tools I've mentioned are those I'm actively using either in my classes or lesson planning or grading.  Here are a couple I haven't used so I can't really judge or rank their effectiveness.

Recently I discovered another free edtech: NoRedInk.  It is a way to help the students work on their grammar and writing skills.  It allows you to create pretests, assignments, and quizzes from their question banks and, when the students take the quizzes or do the assignments, the program tracks their skills for them.  It gives the teacher an at-a-glance feedback chart of which students are mastering the various grammar skills.  The free version is pretty comprehensive, but I'm sure that the premium version (paid) has even more options.  I mentioned another edtech in a previous blogpost in this series: Geddit.  Like NoRedInk, I haven't used this yet, but I am looking forward to using it.

Reflective Teaching: Day 7, Inspirational Colleagues

Day 7--Who was or is your most inspirational colleague, and why?

Inspiration comes in many forms, and from many different people.  Inspiration is like the wind, an inhalation of grace, a refreshing glimpse of sehenzucht.  With so many diverse ways to be inspired, and with so many people to be the muses, how can I choose just one source of inspiration?  

I was inspired to become an English teacher by my seventh grade English teacher, Ms. Robinson.  She made English--a subject I already enjoyed--into my calling through her enthusiasm, support, and encouragement.  She made literature, grammar, and writing into the building blocks of my desire to become a teacher like her.  Learning was fun and interesting in her class. I don't know if she counts as a colleague, technically, since I never taught with her...but she was teaching in the same district when I subbed one day at my old high school, so I'm going to count it.  While she was not the only source of inspiration during my high school years, she was the impetus. 

College brought a new group of muses into my life.  My professors in the English department at Evangel University inspired me in my quest to become an English teacher--people like Sandy Vekasy, Marilyn Quigley, and Pansy Collins. They gave me knowledge and skills and tools I still use every day in my teaching.  They showed me how to become the teacher I wanted to become, all the while breathing continued life into the desire to be a teacher to my students like they were to me.  Now, I can't technically count them as colleagues because I didn't teach at Evangel--unless you count the tutoring I did in the Write Place or the Basic English lab I taught as part of my major.  So... I'm going to count it.

My first "real" teaching job after graduating was at Grace Christian Academy on Saipan, an island in the Pacific.  My fellow teachers there were definitely inspirational.  I saw my colleagues there give with missionary fervor so much of their time, passion, and knowledge.  One such person was Mary Kinsella.  She was a great help to me, especially my first year.  According to her students, she was a tough teacher, but fair.  I was a new teacher, and her advice to me about classroom management and how to build rapport with my students was an inspiration to me.

When I returned to Missouri after four years overseas, I got a job at Carthage High School, in Carthage, MO.  Once again I was surrounded by inspirational colleagues like Caroline, Donna, and Cathy.  The inspiration I received from them and others in that faculty helped me grow as a teacher.  They helped me learn how to put together curriculum and work with Common Assessments to help our students learn.  I was blessed to have worked with them for three years, and in that time I was inspired any number of times and in any number of ways.

Now that I've been teaching at Buffalo High School for eleven years, I cannot count the times I have been inspired by my colleagues.  Their diligence, their dedication, their desire to give the best education they can to the students we've been given is a daily inspiration.  My colleagues inspire me with how much they sacrificially give.  Each of them has inspired me, from Jill's work ethic to Laura's ability to connect with the students to Gayle's willingness to help everyone. I could easily pick my most inspirational colleague from among them.

My colleagues are my muses.  I look to them daily for inspiration about how to make my lessons interesting and content-filled.  I see the extra work they do before, during, and after school to help the students and community we serve.  We're all working at inspiring our students to become the productive members of our society we know they can be.  How do I choose just one of my colleagues when I have been shaped by so many?  So, I don't.  I choose them all.  Like the old saying goes, it takes a village... and my colleagues have been a large part of that village in my own life.

Reflective Teaching: Day 6, Good Mentors

Day 6--Explain: What does a good mentor “do”?

A good mentor is, like the screenshot above says, an "adviser, guide, guru, counselor, consultant, confidant(e)."  I especially like the "guru" and "confidant(e)" synonyms.  While it is definitely true that mentors of all professions are there to guide their "mentees" by helping them with the ins and outs of their jobs, an educational mentor needs to be the one someone feels comfortable enough with and around to ask the "stupid" questions (which are not stupid at all, but the first-time or new-to-building teacher feels are stupid because he or she is, after all, a professional teacher and should know the answers): 

• "How can I go to the restroom between classes if I'm supposed to be watching the kids in the classroom and the hallway?" 
• "What do I do if I have to go to the restroom during class?"
• "What is my copy machine password?"
• "How do I get this blankety-blank copy machine to work?" 
• "Where is the toner cartridge overflow pan?"
• "The copy machine screen says there's a paper in there somewhere, but I can't find it; am I crazy?"
• "Why is the copy machine printing out a bunch of gobbledygook pages when I was just sending one thing to the printer?"
• "One of my students drew an anatomically correct body part on his desk; how can I clean that off before next hour?"
• "How do I call the parents when my phone doesn't call off campus?"
• "I don't have any staples; where are the classroom teaching supplies?" 
• "How can you tell the difference between the tornado drill sound and the fire drill sound?"
• "The computer is not working; how do I print off my worksheets?"
• "How do I sign up for the computer lab online if my own computer is not working?"
• "How do I send an email about my broken computer to the tech office if I can't access email?"

These questions (and many more, I assure you) are questions I asked my mentors, and some are those my "mentees" have asked me.  A good mentor answers those questions or helps you find the answers.  A good mentor helps you find that jammed piece of paper, the extra staples, and cleaning supplies.  A good mentor lets you use his/her own computer to email the tech office about your broken computer.  A good mentor gives up his/her own chance to go to the restroom to watch your class. He or she also provides the necessary listening ear, comforting shoulder (usually metaphorically), extra tissue, and perfect story of his/her own that helps you when you're feeling overwhelmed.

Can fish climb trees?

What does it mean to be intelligent? Albert Einstein’s quote makes it drastically clear that when we judge people based on specific qualifications only judging one aspect of intelligence, we cannot truly say who is or is not a genius. Fish cannot climb trees. Well, maybe there are a couple that do--the Leaping Benny and the Mud-skipper, and perhaps an intrepid catfish or two--but on the whole, fish out of water are the epitome of, well, fish out of water. So if we humans can understand the truth in Einstein’s quote, why do we insist on using one type of test to determine intelligence when talking about people? Surely there are as many types of intelligence as there are (pardon my pun) fish in the sea; how can we say this person is a genius because he passes some arbitrary IQ test while another person is below average because he doesn't?

I've been a high school teacher for most of my adult life, and in that time I have never met a student who didn't excel at something, even if some of those students did not excel in my content area. I have had students who can take a block of wood and turn it into something amazing like a recipe box or a sculpture or a pen but who cannot analyze a poem to save their lives. I have had other students who can calculate the tangent of a triangle without blinking, but if given an essay prompt can hardly put three words on a page.

Give this student an engine to take apart and put together and she can do it with ease. Give her a vocabulary quiz and she fails miserably. Give this other student a book report, and he will return it with annotations; ask him to make popcorn, and he will burn it every time. Artists, musicians, mechanics, chefs, doctors, accountants, farmers, businessmen--all of these people have scholastic areas they achieve in and those they do not. Why is it, then, that we insist on testing them all the same way? While I would not say we should get rid of testing--everyone should learn the basics--we should realize that tests are just one source of information about a person and his or her intelligence. I understand, theoretically, the reason we as a nation are so concerned about our test scores compared to those of other nations. No one wants to be below standard or considered lower than others.

However, the idea of school shouldn't be to turn out a bunch of people who can do well on a standardized test. It should be turning out people who have an idea of where their passions lay and the wherewithal to begin that journey to get there. I wish that we, as a nation and a world, would truly understand the sentiment of Einstein’s quote. Heck, I wish I would--never mind all the rest. If I could truly see the forest for the trees, maybe I would figure out what kinds of tests I can give my kids to show what they’re really good at--and then encourage them in those areas. Then, if I do find a fish that can climb trees, that’s a bonus.