Well, moms and dads, it's that wonderful time of the school year when our kids must prove to the powers that be that they haven't always been sleeping during class. Yes, while the weather is warming, the flora and fauna are bursting from their winter slack, and the entire northern hemisphere itches to be outside in the sun drinking artificially-colored beverages, our poor, pollen-invaded children must endure another annual barrage of state testing. Sure, we practice with them, send them out the door with their bellies full of hearty oatmeal, and pray that they muddle through the tedium without too many mistakes... but do we actually care how well they perform on SOLs? Should we?
Personally, I've met more than one good parent who doesn't. I'm torn--I want them to excel on their scores, but if they don't, I don't want to harass them too much about it. If I did, I would be sundering my disdain for the whole SOL system itself. Don't get me wrong: the tests themselves aren't the issue, but the fact that all year, these kids must fill their heads almost exclusively with the information they need to succeed on these SOLs, and it really ticks me off that they are not taught much else. I understand that there are many schools, even in our beloved Commonwealth, which aren't up to snuff. But there's gotta be a better way than drilling the same thing day after day, nothing outside the SOL criteria, blah, blah, blah. In fact--as far as I can tell--one could keep the kids home after the testing is over, because the whole goal of the school year is complete!
Hire good teachers, pay them well, oversee the general curricula and let 'er rip! Is that so hard? Apparently.
Personally, I've met more than one good parent who doesn't. I'm torn--I want them to excel on their scores, but if they don't, I don't want to harass them too much about it. If I did, I would be sundering my disdain for the whole SOL system itself. Don't get me wrong: the tests themselves aren't the issue, but the fact that all year, these kids must fill their heads almost exclusively with the information they need to succeed on these SOLs, and it really ticks me off that they are not taught much else. I understand that there are many schools, even in our beloved Commonwealth, which aren't up to snuff. But there's gotta be a better way than drilling the same thing day after day, nothing outside the SOL criteria, blah, blah, blah. In fact--as far as I can tell--one could keep the kids home after the testing is over, because the whole goal of the school year is complete!
Hire good teachers, pay them well, oversee the general curricula and let 'er rip! Is that so hard? Apparently.
