There’s a Train A Coming
This opinion piece was shared with us by PAA Florida Affiliate leader Lourdes Pérez Ramírez. She writes, “Here’s an opinion piece that Rick Roach, the only school board member who has had the guts to take a standardized test and failed, and who also has the guts to sternly oppose these high-stake tests, sent me.”
There’s a Train a Coming
By Rick Roach, Orange County (Florida) School Board Member District 3
I’ve always tried to heed what a wise man once said. “ When you bury your head in the sand, remember what you leave exposed.”
It’s been a valuable image for me as I’ve represented my Orange County School Board District 3 constituents. On Saturday, January 25, nearly 450 people gave up a gorgeous afternoon to watch an educational documentary called STANDARDIZED. I’d received the DVD a few days before, made arrangements for showing it at Howard Middle School, and watched it at least five times, trying to imagine how it would be viewed by people with differing perspectives about standardized testing. Would it rub people the wrong way? Offend? Encourage? Discourage?
As I introduced the film to the crowd, I moved to the back of the auditorium where I could get a better feel for reaction. There was no need to worry. Scene by scene the crowd laughed, applauded, ooohed, ahhed,