Looking back at the end of this school year, it has been harder and more chaotic than I could have ever imagined, even in my wildest conspiracy theory moments. Still, if we give up on good teaching, we have lost.
Through the year, I read endlessly powerful posts and articles about what is wrong with what is being forced on our schools. I read letters from strong teachers and principals explaining why they have to quit. I heard about famous educators and media stars coming out against the insanity. The evidence is in about the billions of dollars for Pearson and Gates with selling tests, new technology to take the tests, and on-line curriculum to prepare students for the test. Nearly everyone I know considered quitting. But we made it through and many of us are staying.
Now, we can't just wait and hope for protests, letters, re-posting on facebook and twitter to have an effect (if it ever will). When we find ways to provide teaching and learning that matter for our kids' lives, we resist the juggernaut of the billion dollar testing industry's impact on reducing our students’ learning opportunities. We have to resist where we can in our classrooms and school buildings. We have to share our discoveries with each other.
We can learn from the courage of those who have persevered in struggles for social justice seemingly forever in the past. If I'm afraid of consequences if I insist on teaching for life rather than the tests, what about slaves who learned how to read in the face of sure dire punishment if caught? What do I risk compared to that?
Last month in a turnaround school, every teacher I talked with said something like this: At the end of the day I want to think I did a good job for kids. I want to feel like they learned in my class. I don’t feel that way right now.
Where are the cracks in the system where students can feel like they learned? Not just for a test but for their lives? Starting today I am on a mission to track what teachers have figured out to still teach their children in ways that matter for human beings.
My friend who teaches in a turnaround school refuses to teach to the every-six-week standardized test as ordered. He is clear his commitment is to the community and he teaches students through a lens of social justice. Through literature and poetry, they explore their own cultural identities and aspirations and societal structure. Through novels they analyze characters in novels to identify what leads people to take action against oppression. His test data exceeds expectations. When I asked him why he thought that happened, he could only guess that his kids were engaged and their minds were alive. They were thinking about what they read.
Good teaching in our public schools will endure. We refuse to let it end. This is my protest.
