Children, their parents, and educators deserve applause for surviving this pandemic year. Thriving is a privilege if you ask me. Hell, nothing about me is thriving right now, and I live a charmed life. These are tough times, and the standard measuring stick to gauge progress just doesn’t hold up. Legislators have been remarking how children are “falling behind.” Hmph. I’d like to tell those legislators to kiss my behind.
First of all, kids fall behind all the time. Have these legislators cared before? Have they invested in public education? Have they championed teachers, special education, school maintenance improvements, or any such thing? And how many of these critics have children in the public school system? How many of them have volunteered in a school, proctored a standardized test, or served as a substitute teacher? Listen, there are no words adequate to express what educators do to support, teach, and nurture our children in any given year, but it is exponentially punctuated in this especially tough year. Teachers rise to the occasion more than anyone we know.
And to think that the powers that be want to force our children into the classroom to take a standardized test in the middle of a pandemic when our state just shattered its previous record Covid cases (over 7500 in a day!) is cowardly and blind. Even students, like mine, who opted for virtual school would be required to take these tests in person, putting them, their families, and teachers at risk. My son chose to do virtual school in his senior year because he chose health and safety first, and here we are ignoring families’ agency by requiring a test that is worthless to begin with. We’re deeming these tests as more important than public health. These tests have little value anyway and are in fact problematic and detrimental to education. Teachers are still doing formative assessments and prioritizing their students’ wellbeing. They’re checking in and giving grace. They are putting social emotional learning at the forefront. This is why teachers are our everyday heroes. I’d like to know where we test and grade legislators.
I spoke at the NC Families for School Testing Reform press conference the other night. People have asked me for my remarks, but in true Ilina fashion, I just spoke doggedly about an issue I care about without notes. I captured what I said the best I could below.
What do we value?
It’s disheartening to see our leaders prioritizing compliance over student wellbeing, physical, and mental health.
This is adding unnecessary stress on kids who are already taxed and adapting to a new learning environment where building relationships is difficult. They are struggling, and not just with academic performance.
What are we doing to ensure their mental health and well-being?
Why are we more intent on measuring student outputs than better understanding the emotional toll of the pandemic? Why is giving grace so difficult?
We cannot apply old rules to this new paradigm, especially when the rules are flawed and misguided to begin with. It’s safe to say that any data from this pandemic year will be taken with the proverbial grain of salt.
At this point, if we administer these tests, we’re pouring salt in the wounds of students who are already experiencing unimaginable stress and trauma.
Let’s do more to demonstrate we care about students, not their achievements.
What would happen if we just simply didn’t administer high stakes tests this year? (Spoiler alert: nothing)
We are looking to those charged with supporting, protecting, and championing our children to take a stand for kids’ health and wellbeing. If you can’t advocate for what’s safe and right in this situation, how can we trust they always have students’ best interest at heart?
The students are not failing, we’re failing them.