NYC Teacher supports parents opting their children out of standardized testing and wishes she could as well!
As we have spoken out against high-stakes testing this year,after our family was first directly affected by it through our third-grade son,we have had the wonderful experience of connecting with like-minded parents inNew York and across the country who are also determined to put education backinto the hands of educators.
We have also heard from many teachers who, unlikeparents, are often under the direct threat of being fired for speaking outagainst run-away testing in our schools. We would like to put forward, with herpermission, the thoughts of one such teacher working in Brooklyn. What followsare her words, taken from our recent correspondence with her, with commentsfrom us interspersed in italics.
We wish this teacher’s experiences were unusual. Butincreasingly this is the norm in our public schools. Professional educatorsacross the country are being prevented from exercising their best professionaljudgment and are actually punished for responding to