My mind is still on bubbles.
I spent Monday morning checking that everyone's bubbles were heavy and dark before sending them off to the testing places to be marked. I have to say, I've noticed that my test anxiety has expanded to include their testing. It didn't take long for my hand to cramp with childhood memories of filling in those little circles.
Children in our society really take a beating from our need to know, to measure, to compare. We demand that they perform; jumping through hoops to prove that they are worth it. Why? Because we're taxpayers! A good portion of our tax money goes to the schools. We need to know that those kids are pulling their weight, that their teachers are doing their jobs. We test them because it is the easiest way to prove that they are learning...something. But what? Testing is stressful. Children aren't stupid. They know it's important. Make sure you fill in those circles. Make your marks heavy and dark. If you change your mind, erase your mark completely and fill in your new answer heavy and dark. If there any other marks, your answer won't count.
We homeschoolers tend to get criticized about the way we teach and the reasons why we choose homeschooling. We keep our kids in a bubble.
Have you ever studied a soap bubble? I recommend it, it's amazing. I used to catch the soap bubbles on my wand and watch the colors swirl on the surface. After a time, dark patches would form and eat away at the color until the bubble finally popped. The colorful bubble became heavy and dark. Then it burst. Interesting.
2 comments:
reading your post i became hypnotized, then got up and floated around the room like a bubble for awhile.
i remember taking tests (were they IQ tests? i have no idea) in 1975 or so and i had no idea they were important in any way. (take this with a grain of salt - when i was suddenly found to be extremely myopic 2 yrs later, i told my mother with amazement that i never knew the teacher was writing things on the blackboard during class.) at least - i didn't know they were important *until the results arrived*. then it was very obvious that they meant a great deal. (but too late to worry about it!) but those tests only judged the kids - not the schools. ah, the good old days, when only the kids could be found severely wanting, and the schools were left alone.
Lol to Lori above!
I was speaking to my neighbor recently, who has his son and daughter-in-law and their three children living with him. He was saying that the principal of his grand daughters school had recently visited his farm. She had said that the teachers are no longer allowed to teach as they can't do anything to make the kids listen without being subjected to a law suit.
Guess we get to choose our bubble but in the end, they all pop.
Post a Comment