Skip to main content

A Waste of Time



(Noun)  1. waste of time - the devotion of time to a useless activity; "the waste of time could prove fatal"
    waste, wastefulness, dissipation - useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly; "if the effort brings no compensating gain it is a waste"; "mindless dissipation of natural resources"
--from Free Dictionary.com

So, the test scores go down in Howard County. You can read about that here.
You can read the Superintendent's piece on it here. You can read a thoughtful interpretation on HoCoRising here.

In short, test scores went down because what we are teaching has changed, but the tests haven't. I have seen a variety of points of view on this, but not the one I care about. Here goes:

Under these circumstances, taking the old MSA's was a waste of time. Yes, I know that assessment is required by law. "They had no choice." But still, I want the weight of this to sink in.

The powers that be in Maryland education, allowed, no, required students to participate in a major undertaking that was a waste of their time.  I find that horrifying.

Our children are valuable.  Their time and effort should be respected.

Lost time is never found again.
--Benjamin Franklin

Recess is cut back to increase "instructional time". Skill and drill programs are forced on schools and the end result is less time for hands-on creative, project-based learning. Schools are given Blue Ribbons for testing scores of Reading and Math alone, which perpetuates the narrow, time-wasting cycle.

In all our deeds, the proper value and respect for time determines success or failure.
--Malcolm X

Have we shown our students the proper respect for their time? And if we have not, how could they fight back?  They are the ultimate stakeholders, yet they have no vote. I've often said that if babies were born with teeth, people would be much more reluctant to invade their personal space. By the same token, if students could bill at an hourly rate for the waste of their time, perhaps people would be more careful with it.

Wisdom is the power to put our time and our knowledge to the proper use.
--Thomas J. Watson

I'm tired of responses that seem to say, "Don't worry parents, this is all what we expected." Or, "Don't worry, lawmakers and general public, this is a part of a long-range plan. We have it all under control."

Who is going to stand up and speak the truth?  "We apologize to teachers for keeping them from truly teaching. We apologize to administrators and school support staff for hindering you from your mission--creating a safe and nurturing environment for learning. We apologize to parents because you entrusted your children to us and we did not value them.  We processed them."

How about this? "We apologize to our students for wasting their time. Time they should have spent learning."

Do you think this is likely? Do you think anyone will take responsibility?

It may very well be time for parents to defend their children's rights by refusing to participate in the high stakes testing machine. In fact, that time is probably overdue. Childhood is fleeting. Teachable moments are precious.

If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
--John Wooden

hocoblogs@@@


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

Separate and Unequal

  Remember “Separate but equal”? Remember how that really meant that Black schools languished in  broken-down buildings without adequate heat or toilet facilities, with cast-off, ragged learning materials, underfunded and largely ignored? The Supreme Court struck that down in 1954. The evidence was clear that separate was not equal. Plessy v Ferguson had led to - - no, endorsed - - deeply unequal schooling and opportunities. We tend to think of Brown v Board as being purely about racial integration. It was not.  It was about the logical consequences of segregation. And they were not, not, not equal. The ruling in 1954 didn’t transform public education for non-whites into a land of milk and honey by any means. But it articulated some essential truths in a way that made including everyone a legal precedent which could be relied upon and built upon. It was better than what came before it but it rested upon unsteady ground. It did not necessarily change the hearts or minds ...
1 comment
Read more