"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
--Martin Luther King, Jr.

A poster of Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders proudly hangs in my classroom every year.  I often look to King's life and words for guidance and inspiration--not just on this holiday in which we remember him--but throughout the year, particularly when times are tough, and the going is frustrating.  

As I lay in bed this morning, sleeping in to the delicious hour of 6:50, I allowed myself to sift through all the mental stacks of paper that need sorting out, but I haven't yet had the time to arrange.  Christmas presents still to be mailed, what to do with my kids the next couple of days.  My five year old sons pitter-pattering feet in the hall temporarity interrupted my reveries, but he climbed in to snuggle with me and quickly dozed off.

So what did my mind drift to next in such a rare moment of unrushed freedom?  My students.  After all, I am a teacher, and that is what we do, like moths to the flame (or insert a more pleasant simile here).

In this diary I'd like to describe some of my own experiences with the world of high-stakes standardized testing. Those of us who teach in public schools in Texas have been dealing with changes in education (thanks in no small part to our former governor) that have now spread across the U.S. The demand for "accountability" in the Texas model is transforming public education along the lines of business, where the bottom line is not profit margin, but the scores students achieve on standardized tests, and the percentage of students reaching certain numerical goals.  Students are now tracked closely throughout the year, with repeated "benchmark" tests, their scores put on spreadsheets like the prices of commodities.

This is the first installment on my thoughts and experiences of teaching in Texas.  I am in my fourth year teaching at a suburban Dallas elementary school, which primarily serves low income and immigrant children.  My goals for writing are two-fold:  1) to clarify my own thoughts on teaching and education, and 2) to be of assistance and/or engage in a conversation with others.