The Sky Is….

What does it mean to be “in the world but not of the world?”   Inevitably this phrase will mean 100 different things to 100 different people. 

 To me it means that, though I may have to play along to a certain degree with society’s standards, I don’t have to morally agree.   In fact, my beliefs should set me free from the world’s encumbrances.

"I must create a system or be enslaved by another man’s; I will not reason and compare: my business is to create."   ~ William Blake

It’s that time of year again.    Achievement test time.   Since the mid-80’s I’ve been required by the state to administer the yearly standardized test to my students. 

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics,

 I assure you mine are far greater.  ~ Albert Einstein

Today my daughter was staring down at her CAT in bewilderment at math questions she’d never seen.   And would never use in any practical way.  

I said, “Not to worry.  Just say eeny, meeny, miny, moe if you don’t know the answer – you have a 25% chance to get it right at any rate.   It’s multiple choice.   Besides, you don’t need that in the real world.    We don’t even use that stuff.   Ever.  We use real life math.”  

 John Taylor Gatto, named New York City’s teacher of the year in 1990, and State teacher of the year in 1991, says of standardized testing: “They lead to no real information about the student, and actually give them a false ranking.   It says people are better or worse than others.  

“Seriously, have you ever gone to a job interview and asked the person interviewing you, ‘What did you get on your standardized test?’  They’d be floored.

 “Parents don’t go up to the teachers who hand out these stupid things and ask what they got on their tests either, because they don’t matter.”    

The way I see it, life is too short to waste on hollow trivia.   Never have I wanted my children to equate success in life with mere academic achievement – though they’ve all tested off the charts.  But I do want them to gain true wisdom and understanding of life issues that matter most.  

I would far rather see them grow up to be a heroic character like, say, Forrest Gump, than any academic snob.  In the world’s eyes, Forrest would be considered an idiot, and yet he is courage and honesty personified.          

When I was in school I remember those tests, which to me were just an interesting diversion from the ordinary class routine.  We sat in hard desks and filled in “right-answer” bubbles most of the day.  Just to confirm how bright or dim we were.  

But what the tests didn’t reveal were our creative, imaginative, intuitive, and spiritual aptitudes – intrinsic in all children before they are forced into robotic learning environments.  These tests never exposed our natural talents or true genius. 

They never offered a clue on what we were born to do, or who we might become.  But instead measured our worth by how well we regurgitated facts, most often irrelevant to our gifts and calls in life.   

Compulsory Education

You know there’s one correct answer

when you take that test.  So you do your

best to get it right, the faster the better,

or you’ll find on your paper a giant red X.

No time to stop and contemplate.  Mark

your answer without delay.  The teacher

is waiting and heaven knows she doesn’t

have all day.  Thirty questions all the same.

Every student should know without

hesitation that the sky is blue.  But what if

today you clearly see a sky of feather gray

or remember an earlier violet dawn complete

with the joy of birdsong?   Or envision

yesterday’s blaze of sunset: harmonious

streaks of amber and pink bleeding across

the horizon.  Oh well, never mind what you

see or feel or think.   Just go by the book

and fill in the blank.  The sky is ____

 

"He told me that his teachers reported that . . . he was mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in his foolish dreams."

-- Hans Albert Einstein, on his father, Albert Einstein 

So how do you view testing?  Should tests be emphasized as sole measures of students, teachers, and schools?  Should students be labeled as a result of failing a test?  Could these labels be self-fulfilling prophecies?   I welcome your experience, thoughts, and feedback.