True Education

There’s a test frenzy,
Creating stress,
Panic,
Desperation.

Passing third grade,

Graduating high-school,
Evaluating teachers,
Grading schools—

All dependent on

This monster,

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
Sadly, the F-CAT does not work.

The students are frustrated.

The teachers feel under restraint,
Restraints
Imposed by those in power.

Professional teachers

Know their students,
Know their needs,
Know their strengths,
Know their weaknesses.

Professional teachers

Know the methods,
Know the practices,
Know what works best for their students.

The only true measure of education—

The success,
The happiness,
of the graduates.

Judge teachers on

How well they teach,
How well they prepare students for the real world,
Not on
      How well they follow the lesson plan.

There are two problems—

The test itself,
The teacher’s freedom to teach.
Both
     Can be corrected.

This test, the F-CAT is totally misued.  The only reason to use this test is to help teachers assess a student’s learning and enable them to help the student do better.  Instead it is used as a political tool. 

The Republicans in government want to convince parents that public schools are failures.  The more people pull their children out of public schools, the less the state of Florida has to pay for education. 

Former Governor Jeb Bush—the education governor?  Pul-leeze!  It is a farce!  He instituted testing (and vouchers and charter schools) to destroy the public school system.

©  2012 Catherine Giordano

This picture comes from www.pictures16.com