A True Commentary on the State of Education

I've been teaching since 1987, and I've seen lots of changes. Many changes are for the better. But one change I see happening is that there is so much focus on getting students to pass the state mandated tests, that the fun of school is disappearing. I remember my first year of teaching 4th grade. We put on some little play that took place in Hawaii. No reason for it, we just did. But one of my parents was an artist, and she came in and drew a background, and wrote in the colors each spot should be painted. Like a huge paint by numbers. My students kicked off their shoes and were all over those panels, painting them in. They were so proud when it was finished and it looked great. Those are the events that make school memorable and fun to teach. There aren't too many of those moments these days. My students have been working on their "ABC of 5th Grade Memories" books. I have been doing this project for several years now. It's a great answer to the "What do I do for the last two weeks of school" question. Plus I hope it'll be a treasured keepsake. Anyway, the kids have to write a memory for each letter of the alphabet, and then write 3-5 sentences for each letter to explain. Students have to the written part first as a rough draft, then transfer it into a book which they illustrate, etc. Yesterday Jan came up to me with her completed A-Z statements. Students had to get my ok before they could go onto their book. I'm reading through Jan's, and I get to the letter I. I pause, read the statement again, and feel a little bit sad. Because it accurately reflected the reality of school at the elementary level. She wrote, "I is for Interventions. We had reading and math interventions this year. In reading interventions we read stuff and then took a test. In math interventions we reviewed stuff and then took a test. Everything led to a test."