Doesn’t anyone wonder what the
”
real story
”
is at Gilroy Unified’s district office? Why have all but one of
the top administrators left?
Dear Editor,
Doesn’t anyone wonder what the “real story” is at Gilroy Unified’s district office? Why have all but one of the top administrators left? It seems a bit coincidental to me that so many principals are also now choosing to leave as well. Could it be that the results needed to prove “success” are impossible to achieve? This seems to be a great time to look at our school system and use some common sense in revamping it.
Students are being over tested and too much time is devoted to taking tests, teaching test taking skills, and gathering data. Each year I have to cut more from my curriculum to fit in all the tests and data gathering activities. This emphasis on gathering information is greatly impacting useful instruction and teaching students skills that they actually need to function in the real world.
We need to return to teaching the fundamentals of education and also spend more time TEACHING! I was trained to teach and assess my students so that I can build on both their strengths and weaknesses. My grade book has weekly assessments that let me know how the students are progressing. The California Standards tell me what to teach. We need to return to common sense and stop placing layers of needless assessments on top of what we already do. All of the joy of teaching and learning has been taken out of the schools. Teachers, students and parents are highly stressed over this and the results are showing that it doesn’t work. There is little, if any time, for teaching P.E., science, and social studies. We must return to producing well-rounded students that have a genuine joy and interest in learning. It’s imperative for the primary grades to build a strong foundation for the basics of reading, writing and math. We need to stop trying to cram so much information into the students so that they regurgitate rules and facts, but retain and understand so little. The data does not show that the “cram and regurgitate” style is increasing our scores.
School should be a special time where young minds learn the joy of learning and making friends, and not just preparing for another test. I am not talking about skipping tests which bring closure to a lesson or unit, but tests like the MAP test which test concepts that are not part of our curriculum. I know that the CST tests are mandated by the state of California and I can live with that. It’s all the extra testing we’ve added that is keeping me from teaching what I know is needed by young students to succeed later on in school.
As a teacher, as well as a parent of three children, I have watched the pendulum swing so far out of whack that I’m not sure it will ever return to a more normal condition. Before all of this craze for testing began, I can remember having students that were taught the basics and have gone on to some of the elite colleges of America. I also know back then, I was actually doing more meaningful teaching than I am today. The No Child Left Behind legislation will not produce high quality students like we have had in the past.
It’s time for parents and educators to evaluate what is truly important in education, and I’m sure we all feel in our hearts that bubbling tests does not really prove what our children have learned. Students must learn proper social skills, problems solving skills and basic human interaction skills. If we took an honest look at what we are “producing'” we’d have to say that what is most important is being left out.
Stephanie Chisolm, Gilroy
