OTT 27: Teachers, Is College for Everyone?
Today’s show takes a look at a system that is holding children to standards that are causing them to believe that their worth resides only in being college and career ready. Is this the message we should be sending to the next generation? Preparing kids to think and learn and problem solve is crucial, but it doesn’t have to be in college. I hope you will join me as I share a letter that I wrote to my daughter when she didn’t get into the colleges she chose due to the message we sent her based on a test score.
I’m sorry that you came to school with me every day and watched me fight against what I knew was so very wrong for kids. I’m sorry that you had to be a part of the testing and standardization era of education. A system where children are told that they are a test score. Where your teachers are evaluated according to factors that they cannot always control. I know that has impacted you greatly. I know the heaviness you have felt and carried as you knew your educators' salaries depended upon how well you performed on a test. I know you had to witness the achievement charts hung in the room for the world to see where you and your peers were performing. I know you had to believe they thought they were doing you a favor by telling you it was to help you achieve your goals. I’m sorry you had to believe that you were less than you are because you don’t work as quickly as others. Yet, you still succeeded throughout your journey. You overcame the obstacles and you never once gave up. Your advanced classes and your intense schedules only increased your level of commitment and encouraged your drive. But in the end, the test was the one thing that held you back, because the system in which you have been a part of all comes down to that- the test.
Links Mentioned in the Show:
OTT: Episode 26: Welcome Graduating Teachers
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