I’ve Given Birth! It’s A….
RANT!
Warning! P*ssed Off Teacher Content!!!!!
We had a faculty meeting today after school. Normally these are annoying but bearable. Today, I flipped into Uber psycho mode.
We had a guest speaker. I don’t know exactly who he was or what his exact relationship to the school district is – but he was there to talk to us about FCAT. FCAT is an aberration. HOWEVER, it is the aberration that all the schools in Florida are judged by. It is a system of standardized tests that all all students are required to take. There are certain gateway points at which they must pass the test to move on to the next grade (or even graduate) regardless of their classroom grades. Based on the test scores of the students, all schools are assigned a grade of A through F. Now understand the school’s grade is not strictly the scores. It also takes into account whether or not students make "adequate yearly progress" regardless of their scores. AND each year the success bar is raised higher. These tests are in reading, writing and math. Science is being slowly added. That’s it – FCAT in a nutshell, although somewhat simplified.
Back to the guest speaker. He was there to tell us how to get our students to give us enough points to raise our school grade. (We are currently a C rated school). He used phrases like "harvesting the students for points". HAVESTING THE CHILDREN?? What the he**? They are no longer people – they are a product to be harvested to get points. ARGH!
Furthermore, it seems that we are to identify the students that will gain us the most points by their gains and changes of level and give THOSE students special attention. The other students? Oh – they’re already in a room. I kid you not. He said that.
Plus, it seems that the state of Florida has a vision. The vision is that all students will graduate from high school college ready. I wonder if anybody asked all the students if that coincides with their vision.
In a perfect academic world, perhaps that’s an admirable goal. This world is not perfect, nor is it entirely academic. And I like it that way. I have a vocabulary word for our guest speaker – UNREALISTIC.
And please, don’t forget that all student populations are not created equal. Our 80% Hispanic low income population is not the same as the purely "white-bread" affluent school populations. And the parent component. The most successful students are those whose parents are involved. Unfortunately, this is not the case with my school. We have begged, pleaded, bribed and threatened our parents with a wide spectrum of strategies. Fact is they are either too busy trying to keep food on the table or too tired or disinterested or simply don’t understand how important their involvement is. Good? No. Real? Yes.
HOW DARE we treat our children as mere points to be harvested? It is unconscionable. And how do we justify giving special attention to those children who can give us most points at the expense of other children? I am spitting nails, I am so frustrated and angry. I WILL NOT reduce my students to the status of a CROP. So FIRE me.
Governor Bush – you and your education program SUCK.
RANT OVER
*for those of you wanting a kilt picture – I was too busy salivating on myself to remember to take a picture. Show me a man in a leather kilt and I COMPLETELY lose control. Go figure. I’d probably have better control of my faculties if I had been educated under Governor Bush’s program, don’t you think?
Harvested?! OMG!
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random noter: I am currently studying at Murraystate University to become a middle school teacher…and from reading what you said the man told you at the meeting, I agree with you….we have KERA here in KY, and my whole life I hated it…personally I dont think it works…lol Diana
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Had that speaker ever had any real experience of children in classrooms, I wonder? if so, he was lacking some basic observation skills. How could he ever possibly assume that the purpose of education is to get points rather than to educate children?!! You have me seething, too!!!!
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This whole system is leaving behind so many children it’s unconscionable. HARVESTING?!?!
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*shakes head*
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The test in my state is called AIMS and the mentality of improving scores is the same here. Students are only test numbers and it is all terribly sad. The pressure on them to perform well on THIS test is pitiful and unfair. Hate the school system here… I just loathe it. Ok, my little rant is over too. 🙂
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OMG that’s ridiculous. I don’t see WHY the government feels the need to stick it’s nose in education. Education doesn’t tell the house of representatives how to operate. Especially when the government fails to think. NOT ALL STUDENTS are college bound. They shouldn’t be either. We NEED people to fix our cars and do other things that don’t require a college degree. And when Bush created NCLB, he. .
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. . . obviously forgot his own class- the SPECIAL NEEDS students. Education should not be measured in standardized tests. School worked JUST FINE before standardized tests were involved, and now because of them, schools have to make cuts and kids don’t have time to BE KIDS. (that was a pissed off future-teacher rant)
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I heard much the same speech during a meeting for a “school improvement day” here not so long ago. My reaction was identical to yours.
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Bush–Don’t get me started….
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YEP, we have the AIMS and we have been told similar things. It cracks me up and saddens me at the same time. Bush and his wife have no idea what happens in classrooms of today. Not all students want to succeed and you can’t hold a gun to their head. Aghghghghghghgh. I rant with you. r
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Oh, don’t get me started. I have no use for testing.
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Perhaps all students could rise to the intellectual level of our illustrious leader. I wish somebody had harvested that family.
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worthy rant~
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It’s what happens when they start grading schools and creating league tables of them. It’s happening here, too. It starts to be about the reputation of the school, because they’re financed by £s per students, instead of about the education of individual pupils. This is the part of teaching I’m dreading – getting my head around the government’s stupid strategies.
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our stoopid state-tests for our school kids are about the same, cept their acronym begins with a T……
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Harvesting children. How very “Soylent Green” of your government. With a shudder…Torin the Unsigned
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i’m just annoyed that I don’t get to go on this trip and have him drop me at your school for a surprise “FROG KING CAKE LESSON”. damnit all. 🙂 Ribbit~
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oh yea, the boy in kilt photo for you. http://www.vaxer.net~tealfrog and go to , huh, i’ll be right back to tell you which it’s under. It’s the g’ville vaxer trip on thanksgiving. 🙂 one moment. dangit, where is my cup o’ king cake flavored caffinated wakeup stuffies?
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i got the slash wrong. 🙂 as usual. us ambidextrious people never get the slashers right. 🙂 http://www.vaxer.net/~tealfrog and thanksgiving, click on teh turkey and then kilt boy is in photos 10- something. just look at the mini pics and open em up. 🙂 PS say hello to toad for me. 🙂
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I know what it feels like to be on the other end. To feel like a cow in the cattle drive and be herded from one important test prep grade to another. -gah, not cattle am I.
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What is this communism?
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Fer cryin’ out loud! Oh fvckitall…let’s go harvest a leather kilt for some “points”.
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it’s a shame when they look at test scores and not the kids. Some kids are wayyyyyy down below the bottom and get raised up to the bottom. That is progress but it doesn’t count.
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This is just too horrible to comprehend. Harvest kids for points? Dump the kids who need the most attention? How could anyone be so callous?
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harvesting kids, sounds like something out of a horror movie, what are they thinking? Some of these people need to actually get down and work with some of these kids and face reality. Now, you go back and get a picture of that man in a kilt, right now. 🙂
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Sad to think that it’s more about making an impression than it is on actually teaching kids. I think my reaction on hearing that kind of thing would be the same as yours.
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And people wonder why we are left behind in the world job market…..We don’t care about ALL the students we only care about the one or two percent of the students that have as you said parents that care. Lael
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It sounds to me like they want to to teach the bottom third. Swell. What are the rest of the kids supposed to do all day?
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I grew up in South Florida and am now in Central Florida. I’ve heard about the FCats and know they are standardized tests, but didn’t realize that was the test that determines the school ratings. “Harvesting the students” is just…wrong!
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