Testing Games : Fire is Catching – If We Burn, You Burn With Us – Comparing Ed Reform to the Hunger Games
Welcome back to the Testing Games. This week, in our comparison of current education reform policies to the popular, Hunger Games series, we will dive deep into the heart of the games: The Burn Scene.
The idea came from a ten year old. My ten year old. Driving to school, recently, I turned to my daughter, a self proclaimed, Hunger Games expert, and asked:
“What is your favorite scene in the Hunger Games?”
She responded, “When Katniss says, ‘If we burn, you burn with us.’”
I was speechless. I can’t not deny: She is absolutely right. That is the pivotal scene of the story. It is the scene in which Katniss, during a fight with the capital, uses a bow and arrow to shoot down their hovercrafts. As she retreats back and discovers the capital has bombed a hospital full of children, she turns in frustration and yells, “Fire is catching. If we burn, you burn with us.”
It is definitely a powerful scene and begs for comparison in our Testing Games analogies. And, as I must admit, the timing has never been more perfect. You see, we are full blown right in the middle of our Testing Games here in Florida. In fact, my own ten year old daughter recently entered the testing arena: The Florida Standards Assessment (Common Core) State Test.
No doubt, she was well prepared for the test, having sat through a year of test prep, practice, and training. Not to mention, she is in fifth grade. In America, that means she has been playing these Testing Games for years. Thus, she is well aware of the consequences of losing the game. Believe her when she says, the struggle is real.
This year, however, was different than previous years. This year, she broke the seal of the test, put down her pencil, and refused to answer any questions. Simply put, my daughter opted out.
Let me say, upfront, the choice to opt out was her own. While only ten years old, she has been accompanying me to conferences, rallies, and school board meetings for years. Being the daughter of a teacher, and an outspoken teacher at that, she has heard me holler, over and over, about the disadvantages of investing our resources into these high Testing Games : Fire is Catching – If We Burn, You Burn With Us – Comparing Ed Reform to the Hunger Games | Welcome to the Testing Games: