Friday, October 24, 2008

CAUTION: Political Rant




This is an excerpt from a speech given by Barack Obama to the NEA. It's a great speech and Steven and I agree with everything he is saying about testing, teaching and the good ole USofA. But I would like to ask Mr. Obama a few questions, starting with finding out what his solutions to the problem are. How specifically are you going to CHANGE the system you are criticizing? Give me one concrete example of what you would do to implement the change you speak of.....Please.

I told Steve that he had just given a speech that basically said nothing, or at least nothing new. We hate tests in the Garver household...as a family of 4 students and as a family of a teacher. Standardized tests inhale deeply (my teacher husbands polite way of saying, they suck). Tests are not a good idea, couldn't agree more. They are an imperfect measure of a students progress... they are a poor indication of a teachers ability....they waste valuable classroom time....duh.

Concluding that something needs to change is simply not enough...the crucial element is formulating a plan as to HOW to change it. What are we going to do with this mess....what's the solution?

And frankly, how much courage does it take to stand up in front of a group of teachers and tell them you're against testing ?

4 comments:

Jeano said...

I just heard a great song called "It's not on the test".

http://www.notonthetest.com

But, yeah, you're right... he didn't really say anything!

Maureen said...

lol...that's actually how we found the Obama video. The 'Not on the Test' song was on YouTube along with a bunch of other videos on testing. At first I was actually impressed by what I was hearing, but then it kind of hit me that he was just stating a problem and his objection to the current situation. I want to hear solutions.

Nancy Winningham said...

It's a very scary election. I hate McCains stand on education and if his plan for insurance goes through and employers no longer supply it, I won't be able to get any. On the other hand, how do I vote for someone who doesn't salute the flag nor knows when life begins? The only solace is that God knows who will win this election and no one will be there that isn't already in his plan.

Julie said...

I heard on radio news several weeks ago that many colleges/universities are not requiring the SAT/ACT scores for entrance as they aren't a good measure of a student's potential. I took both tests three times! Neither candidate has said anything about education that excites me. I want to be excited by a candidate. I want to want to listen to what they have to say. Please? Some excitement!