What we need is more testing in education!

When I recently read Arne Duncan's latest (June 14) address* at the Governor's Symposium on Education - well, mostly it made me ill. Only people with short memories could get a good shot of motivation from such a ridiculous speech. Holding Tommy Thompson up as a remarkable leader in educational reform - mmm, if any teacher who was teaching at the time of Tommy's administration in Wisconsin heard this you might have to restart their heart.

Secondly, Arne claims to have taken the pulse of educators by saying, "The U.S. Department of Education started asking for comments on policy issues through the Web site. Our first question was about raising standards." He goes on to say that the first respondent was a library media specialist who said the weakest point in education was that "the level of standards differs for every state." His next statement is: "Another woman wrote, 'If all states followed the same standards then there would be less inequities for our students.'" I agree with them both" Arne states. That's it, Arne? He then uses this library media specialist and a nameless other woman as his launching pad of PROOF that he is justified in saying next, "With higher standards that are common across states we can share best practices and collaborate on curricula." Like we cannot do that now? Later he makes one of the most ignorant statements that every experienced educator would refute: "But common sense also tells us that "Kids in big cities like Newark and San Francisco – or small towns like Tarboro, North Carolina -- are no different from each other." ??? I have two sons, and they are different as hell, and they lived in the same house! Kids are a LOT different, and it is the very ignorance of this fact that has created this mess we are in with Standardized Testing. (1/9th of the school year is now spent on prepping and practicing for achievement tests to see if kids are all alike, and if so, why not.)

I guess I am saying that for Our Federal Leader on education to justify Uniform Standards as the next new savior of education - AND the federal mandates that will follow later - on this kind of (I will be polite...) "stuff" is reprehensible. Embarrassing. Okay: Stupid. 'Stupid is as stupid does', is never more true.

I could go on through this speech and almost every other paragraph is - well, you read it*, then think to yourself: What did he just say?

Two thirds of the way through his speech Duncan says: "...and that brings me to the real point of this speech – which is the assessments. Once new standards are set and adopted you need to create new tests that measure whether students are meeting those standards."

Ohhhh, so THAT is what we need!! NEW TESTS! Cool. Wow. I think not, Mr. Duncan. I think not. That is NOT "What we need", sir. Besides, Duncan also assumes a lot when he says, "Once new standards are set and adopted..." as if that is a no-brainer. Of course we will get on board and go along with his well thought out plan. I think not, Mr. Duncan. Don't be in such a hurry to make the assumption that MORE TESTS and HIGHER STANDARDS (when we have kids that cannot reach the ones we have, for Pete's sake!) is just the shot in the arm education needs. I think not.

One more quote from our fearless Leader. He has coined the phrase, "Race to The Top!" for the 5B dollar infusion that is coming one day to help reform all of us and the kids we advocate for. "Race to The Top"? Would somebody please mail Arne Duncan a copy of Butterflies are Free? What a stupid phrase. A Race to the Top means most will lose. There is only one winner in a race.
Two guys are hacking their way through the jungle with machetes.
One guy says, "Uh, Jim, I think we are lost."
And Jim says, "Shut up and keep hacking, we are making GREAT time!"

So to lead us in The Race to The Top, Arne has seen fit to have Joanne Weiss head this up. Joanne Weiss is a biochemist. She has never taught in the public schools a day in her life. And she is on top of our 5B reform package. Stupid is...

I hate being so negative. I was told that if I am not careful I will soon sound like Andy Rooney. Eeek! What I want to sound like is someone who cares a lot about kids who are lost. I want to sound like someone demanding that the person in charge of leading us through the jungle has a compass, not just a machete. I want to sound like someone who says, "Elect someone like Lynn Stoddard** to head up the "Race to the top" ---because he would NEVER let kids forget about discovery, creativity, and True Learning. He would of course have the 3Rs approach covered but as a vehicle of learning, not the end product itself.

He would remember that teachers are here to serve students and not politicians, and that heart is as important as head in education.




Doctor Zest
Twitter.com/doctorzest

*Arne Duncan's speech on June 14: http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2009/06/06142009.html
**Educating for Human Greatness – A must read if you can find a copy.