When I read this in 2009, the state of education in our country couldn't touch what it is now - with more testing and more labeling of schools and teachers and the corporate reformers pushing to have neighborhood schools closed only to open charter schools in their place.
And this year was the first testing season that I was reading blogs of my blogging-teaching buddies, and post after post described the annoying feelings of all the time given up to testing, the anxiety the kids were feeling, the feelings of helplessness by the teachers who aren't allowed to help kiddos on these tests - which is exactly opposite of what would happen on any other normal day.
Anyways, I highly recommend this book to you all! It's a collection of essays all about testing and teaching - and, if you want to see a preview, check out the video that my group made back in '09, with lots of quotes from the text.
Please understand - by no means do I have a problem with accountability. I don't have a problem with standards, either. I can even handle some standardized testing. That being said...I think it's getting too far out of hand. Too many tests with too many labels.
It's so important that we, as educational professionals, stand up to policy that is bad for kids! Be aware of what is going on in your state and raise your teacher voice when needed!
Happy Monday!
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