Posted in Teachers Corner

After posting the last time (and then ignoring you all for a month), I had a conversation with my family about the WASL. I found out that my sister (the biology teacher) was also in the class that tested the math segment to see if it would work. Keep in mind this girl is near genius -- she hated it! The teachers spent the entire year teaching only what was on the test, so they lost some of the richness (maybe well-rounded might be a better term) of the full curriculum. She said the test was a joke; not that it was easy, but that it didn't make sense. I'll have to get into her head a bit more to find out what she meant by that.

My dad (the music teacher) said one of his co-workers is having her fifth graders evaluate the videos of the fourth graders. Did I tell you about that? The kids are required in band, choir and general music classes to take a "test" to show their understanding of music (because we can't leave any area of learning out of this program); they are to be videotaped performing a piece of music, then the teacher is to evaluate them on things like expression. I'm sorry -- I've got great expression when I perform music now, but I didn't back then. I didn't have the experience in my life to give me anything to base expression on in the first place. I knew students in high school who went to Juliard later, who didn't show much expression in high school. Anyway, when an elementary music teacher sees hundreds of students a week, how are they supposed to be able to teach music and still have the time to test each one individually? It's ridiculous to think this is going to work. I'm convinced that when this becomes mandatory here shortly, the WASL will go down in flames.

I ran across a lady at a gas station near Spokane who told me her kids had been doing well in school, and fortunately went to a school that doesn't teach to the test; they simply mention, "this will be on the WASL," then go on as if it didn't mean anything. She hadn't had any problems with it until lately, when her son -- a great English and science student -- failed the math portion last spring. Knowing he wasn't great at math (but not real poor at it, either), she signed him up for summer school. When I spoke with her, she said they were waiting on the results from his recent, second attempt at the math part, but he was convinced he did no better than before. I can't remember what she said he was interested in doing with his life, but the comment was, "he doesn't need geometry, trig or calculus to do it."

I'm a big fan of giving our kids a broad spectrum of subjects and experiences, and not limiting them to what I think they should be doing. Neither, though, do I think they need to master all those subjects. Let's be real -- very few people out there have mastered all these subjects and perform them perfectly, yet that is what the Washington State educational system is demanding.

Case in point, that darling little girl in the TOS magazine last fall or winter -- the one who painted those incredible pictures. If you remember, the interview said she did her studies in all the basic subjects, but with her unbelievable talent, no one was pushing her into a career in science. Art was her thing, and that's where her educational focus was. For goodness sake, she would probably fail the WASL! (Dear, if you're reading this, I'm not putting you down. Grab your paintbrush and keep going -- I'm behind you all the way.)

I understand that people want to know their kids are getting a well-rounded education, and that they aren't just being pushed through without really learning anything. I understand that Washington is tired of being low on the educational totem pole. I also understand that some students need to be threatened with testing, so that they don't just sleep through class (experience speaking here).

I understand, too, that there are many reasons why this is necessary. Parents have given up their responsibilities in educating their kids; this eventually leads to a complete disconnect with what is possible for both the teachers and the students in a school environment. Governments have made educational accomplishment the standard of success in their jurisdictions, which requires this kind of pressure instead of relying on the more realistic motivators of necessity and desire (which would, of course, go back to parents and their influence on their children); also, our government here in America seems so bent on comparing itself to other countries around the world, despite the fact that we are a different system/society than those countries, and should thus have different expectations and ways to meet them than those other countries. I have a real issue with the media (no offense to my boss), and here is a place where it comes into play; the things we read in the paper, hear on the radio, see on TV, and download on the Internet all affect how we see the world -- when a vast amount of that is skewed, our view of life, education and what's important is also skewed. Of course, as a Christian, I see the Enemy of our souls as a major factor in this too. Sin of every kind distracts us from our responsibilities, setting us up for failure and frustration; he's not going to want our kids to succeed, so he's all for an ineffective test that's going to discourage our children and keep them from learning.

There's so much more, but I'm sure I'm just rambling now. My point is, if we as parents would take our God-given authority (see Exodus 10:2, Deuteronomy 11:1-7, 19, Psalm 78:5-6, Proverbs 22:6, Isaiah 38:19, Ephesians 6:4, the example of the priests and prophets in the Old Testament, and that of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament), return our government to its original purpose (not policing us and extending itself into areas it was never intended to go, like education), and focus on what's important in life (a relationship with our Creator, following His plan for our life, obeying and serving Him), we would find that we and our children would be successful without the need for tests like the WASL. I know this will never fly in today's society, but I can always hope -- at least it will be this way when Jesus returns to rule. Won't that be nice?