A Letter to Parents from a Parent
A Letter to Parents
Aug 21st, 2011
Dear Parents,
I write this letter as a parent myself, who also happens to be an educator for over twenty years (and counting…), which means I live by a double edged sword. Education, which has been an immensely political issue for me all these decades has also become a deeply personal one beginning six years ago with the birth of my son Conor, and two years after that with the birth of my daughter Molly. I also happen to be on vacation at the beach with my family at the moment I write this letter. I suppose while I focus on my family this week, the educator’s mind never turns off. So I begin this letter with a short story (a metaphor of sorts) about being at the beach, thinking about the school year which begins in less than 2 weeks, and the effects that high stakes testing has on me, my children, and our society.
This morning I lugged our wheeled cart full of assorted items needed to keep children amused for hours to the beach. As we crested the dunes I saw that the sand castle and large tide pool (aka big hole) we had dug were still there from yesterday; not washed away completely by the evenings tides but rather worn down at the edges, and filling in from wind and sea mist. Conor immediately grabbed a few sand toys jumped into the middle of the tide pool, now empty and dry. Looking at the water I could tell the tide was moving back in slowly. “Let’s dig it back out again” I chimed, “That way when the water moves up it will fill back in again.” He was eager to begin, but after a few moments his attention waned. “The water’s not coming in mommy” he noted. “It takes time buddy. If we
