Stop the testing...Bring back the joy..

[Playinghardball]

[mmonk]

1. There is very little learning without joy.

[daleanime]

3. Amen....

[SheilaT]

2. When my sons were young,

I enrolled them in summer programs of various kinds, and one of the best was run by the Shawnee Mission (KS) school district. There were week long programs for most of the summer, various topics and themes: cooking, Chinese language and culture, various crafts. What I was most struck by was how much my kids actually learned along with how much fun they had. It was clear to me that this ought to be the base model for school, especially in the early years. Yes, they have to learn to read, write, and do basic math. But so many things are best learned hands-on.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. I Went To Summer School A Few Years

For just what you described. I was a straight A student, so i didn't NEED summer school, but i went to take wood shop, track and field class, basic electrical one year, and like that. It was fun, killed a few hours each day (although i think it was only 4 days a week) and i got to meet some cute girls who went to different schools than mine.

Worked pretty good for me.

[kentuck]

4. This is such an important message.

I don't think they do it on purpose? Stealing joy from the children's lives?...

[AwakeAtLast]

14. Oh yeah, they do

Pearson-Bush connection. BFEE at its worst.

[kath]

6. This is why we homeschooled our kids.

We wanted to keep their curiosity and love of learning alive.
Schools tend to suck out the joy of learning and suck the life out of the child. We did NOT want this done to our children.

We pulled our oldest out 19 years ago, after kindergarten.Did this because the kindergarten was NOT developmentally appropriate, (sat in on a first grade classrom, and that was even worse) and the emphasis on standardized testing in the schools was too much.
HA - compared to now, things were great then. The emphasis on testing, and on treating the youngest ones in VERY developmentally inappropriate ways has gotten worse and worse and worse. I weep for this country's children, especially the littlest ones as they enter the soul-sucking school system.

[mopinko]

12. boy howdy.

my oldest is now working on a phd in experimental math. all he needed was support. travel, trips to the library, field trips, books. paper. pens.
and TOYS!! omg that boy had a lego collection and made the most amazing stuff.
the first week of school i usually just let them fool around with all their school supplies.

i never told them what to learn, really. we had art days and so on, but they mostly devised their own projects.

when #1 son got older he spent a couple of years teaching himself programming languages, and doing the first of the mit freeware.
when he decided to go on to college, he got exactly one b, the rest all a's. top in his class.

all my kids follow their passions and teach themselves what they need to know. because what we studied was how to learn. i think that is the one thing they dont allow in schools any more. one size fits all, ya know.

[edhopper]

7. I would like to see a mass movement by parents to opt

their children out of these test. When 50, 60 or 70% of the kids don't take them, they will become meaningless.

I am very sure most teachers will back them.

[mopinko]

13. lots of folks did that in illinois.

they added another damn test and the parents and the kids said- fu.

[mopinko]

8. high stakes testing is bullshit.

one thing that i really lived by when we were homeschoolers- i read a column from a well known columnist, tho i dont remember who it was.
it was about bringing computers into the news room. he said there was no question that everyone would learn it, the only difference was how quickly.
why isnt reading taught like that?

and really, most kids barely need to be taught to read. so many figure it out on their own. or need just a little help. (then the teacher gets the credit.)

when we started out, my son was 5. he had been read to a lot. all i needed to do was give him a few keys, and he had it all unlocked in 2 weeks.

we should stop telling them what to learn and just help them learn what they want to know. that is how you make life long learners.

[MyOwnPeace]

10. And you........

my friend, need to be on a school board, or a state representative, or a US congressman!
These are the people that can stop the nonsense that's going on. Trust me, good educators are with you and would be your allies (which would probably cost you votes!).

[mopinko]

11. not me. i have no manners. lol.

and i suspect that teachers and i would disagree about a lot of things.
chicago school board would be kinda sweet, tho. i could raise some ruckus there.

[haikugal]

9. That's how I didn't learn my times tables...

Ugh! It caused math anxiety...

[G_j]

15. K&R

[hunter]

16. Find out what the kid loves...

... and give them plenty of good reading materials about that subject.

They'll read, and with some guidance, they'll begin to do the math too.

Turning reading and math into stressful "work" turns kids away from it.

There's nothing to hate about reading or math, even for people with "learning disorders."

But somehow our schools turn out kids who "hate" reading and math.

This insane emphasis on testing doesn't make children "smarter."

Our schools are graduating A+ students who are boring conformists who are good at passing tests, and a mess of kids who hate school and don't really have any practical knowledge of math or science or much of anything else.

How are they dealing, as adults, with our rapidly changing world? They're not. They see Donald Trump on television and think he'd be a great President.