Of Cats and Kids
The cult of the ISAT
Posted by: Carol Lombardi
Tuesday, March 4, 2008 10:54 PM
This is my daughter's first year in public school, and so far it's been a really good experience.But this ISAT thing has got to go. As a second grader, she doesn't even have to take ISATs, and yet for some reason the entire school spent days getting pumped up for these statewide standardized tests.
They had a theme day every day last week, which required various types of clothing and accessories, to highlight test-taking strategies. They have cheers, songs, posters and rallies. They sacrifice a goat on the first morning. It's like a cult.
Ok, the goat part is not true, but if they thought it would help nudge up those scores, I wouldn't want to be a goat wandering the school hallways.
So I told my daughter the truth. On the list of things that are important to me with respect to education, her performance on a standardized test doesn't even make the top 1,000.
Here is what does matter: it matters to me that she genuinely puts forth her best effort in school. It matters that she gets her homework and projects done - neatly, on time and to the best of her ability. It matters that she pays attention and is respectful to her teachers and doesn't disrupt the class. It matters that she is kind and compassionate. (If I had to choose between my child acing the ISATs and defending another child from a bully, I would choose the latter without hesitation.) It matters to me that she makes good choices when she doesn't have pre-thought answers and little circles to fill in.
I realize that in choosing to switch from private to public school, I chose to have my child participate in the ISAT idiocy for the forseeable future. (It was better than the year-round fiasco of private school.) But I can still hate that we do this to kids.
Comments
It was better than the year-round fiasco of private school.
Care to elaborate? I often yearn for the days of a one-room schoolhouse where the parents were responsible for hiring and paying the teacher and the schoolboard/state/feds kept their noses out; I see some private schools as closer to that ideal.
Obviously a lot of people along the socio-economic spectrum have problems with the C-U public school systems: those that are financially able pay twice to send their kiddos to private schools (or move to the surrounding communities), and those that can't afford private school push for charter schools -- regardless of color or wealth there's a lot of people unhappy with the local public schools on both sides of Wright Street.
I'd love to hear your experience with private schools, which you tried, etc.
Posted by dw on March 20, 2008 at 9:51 PM
