A Gold STAAR on April Fools' Day!

Today, millions of schoolchildren all over the great state of Texas will gather together and STOP learning for the day.

Today, thousands of teachers all over this Lone Star State will put the educational needs of their students on hold and back burner any need to challenge their students minds and learning.

Today, from the panhandle to the big country, all the way to the Texas/Mexico border, labs will be postponed, books will be closed, field trips go unscheduled.   No creativity in the classroom is allowed.  No reading corners, story sharing, math manipulatives - no new projects or research is assigned.

All for the sake of education.

A coincidence that it is ALSO APRIL FOOLS' DAY?!

As the daughter, wife, niece and dear friend of many teachers, I have had the experience of watching the efforts behind the learning process for all 43 years of my life.  I have seen my mother and now my husband grading papers, designing projects and labs.  I have seen my mother gathering "rewards" for the class treasure box and creating storyboard projects.  I have seen my husband create a class team to build and compete a trebuchet in a "pumpkin chunkin'" competition.    I have seen students build musical instruments from scratch that can play music.  I have seen more GOOD teaching than I could ever begin to explain.

It is important to note that my husband, my mother, and every one of my friends who teach HAVE A DEGREE and are perfectly educated, trained and prepared to challenge their students.  What's MORE, each of these educated, trained professionals have supervisors to which they answer.  They are given curriculum and have other trained, educated professionals whose job it is to make sure that all of them and their fellow educators are maintaining the curriculum and continuing to challenge students on a daily basis.

APRIL FOOLS'!   Silly us!  Did we think that that was enough?!

Thankfully, there is a wonderful group of people put in place, that knows MUCH more than all these educated teachers and professionals.  WHEW!  That's a relief.  For a brief moment, I was afraid we might have to rely on years and years of combined experience, training, seminars, college classes, research and new innovative teaching approaches.  Thank GOODNESS that they came up with the idea of repeated, annual, standardized testing!

After all, standardized testing ALWAYS:

* Shows us the different gifts and strengths with which we are all born.

* Shows us a good balance of who is smarter than others, NEVER who takes tests better.

* Is a GREAT use of a teacher's and student's time.

* Is an accurate depiction of what a teacher has invested in his or her students.  We can't possibly take into consideration the students' support groups at home, resources outside of class, cultural appreciation or lack of interest in education or any other factors.  No, if the scores are not what the government deems worthy, it MUST be the fault of the teachers.

Yes, folks.  That's another thing I've learned in my 43 years:  sarcasm.

As a dance studio owner, I supervise a staff of 18 people, 16 of whom are teachers.  I find myself able to maintain a general knowledge of what those teachers are doing, teaching, choreographing and how they are interacting with our students.  I know each teacher's strengths and areas where I need to continue to hold them accountable.  I am aware of their creative strengths as well as where they might need a little assistance, and I am capable of providing it.

It was MY belief, until the STAAR so eloquently showed me the error of my ways, that principals, assistant principals, department heads and fellow teachers could do the same thing for the teachers in our school system.  I have been corrected and see now that we have the need to spend $90 million on this testing over the next 5 years, not on making sure that our teachers are well paid and that educational resources are funded to help students learn.  No, the monies are needed to MEASURE that learning in an accurate way.

Wait.....ok...help me out here.  After all, I didn't grow up with the STAAR testing, so I may have managed to "cheat the system" and "sneak by" all those teachers, college professors and employers.  Perhaps I am much less educated due to my lack of repeated standardized testing, and I need this explained simply to me:

It is better to spend $90 million to test and see IF the students are learning than to invest in the learning itself?

OH!  I get it!   That's the APRIL FOOL'S JOKE!

Whew - for a minute, I thought they were serious.

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http://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/90-Million-Tab-for-STAAR-Testing-Includes-Pricey-Meetings-Travel-Consultants-201520411.html