Any other middle school English teachers here?

[jasonf]

Posted: 12/14/05 at 7:20pm

I need to rant about standardized testing -- the absolute GARBAGE that is given top ratings in essays...I'm ready to just stop teaching the test at all and just teach HOW TO WRITE!!! When in your life have you EVER had to write a story about a picture in 25 minutes??? EVER!? When do you ever have to write an essay without the aid of a dictionary, thesaurus, spell checker, or editor??? My 7th and 8th graders see the fault in the logic of the state putting so much emphasis on a test where the grading is subjective, where if the school doesn't meet AYP funding is PULLED, where 100% of SPECIAL ED kids are expected to pass the test within the next 10 years!

I know this has all be gone over and over in discussions in schools, but I just got a heavy dose of reality today. We got the state book that shows how essays were scored. NOT ONE OF THE PERSUASIVE ESSAYS THAT GOT A TOP SCORE HAD A DAMNED THESIS STATEMENT IN IT! NOT ONE! One of the essays had more grammatical errors than many of my lower performing students have, and yet it was rated as having "Superior command of language and advanced syntax"!

Last year, one of my students was one of the best writers I've EVER seen (kid or adult). She was one of the around 200 students in the country who won the National Young Writers of America contest - and honestly, I would have been shocked if she DIDN'T win it -- and SHE didn't get a perfect score on her writing. I guarantee whatever she wrote was better than what got the top scores. Seriously - it's just so frustrating....

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 12/14/05 at 7:36pm

I'm not a middle school English teacher, but I feel your pain. I'm very close to becoming a high school English teacher and right now I'm subbing a lot. I've already experienced frustration over standardized testing and the government's lack of emphasis on what really constitutes good writing. The system is definitely flawed. I'm not sure what can be done about it, though.

[jasonf]

Posted: 12/14/05 at 8:27pm

Elphie - sad to say it only becomes worse the more you have to deal with it. Maybe in highschool the issue isn't as big since they don't have the state testing in quite the same way, but there's no REAL escape from these horrible tests. The problem is, the further you get from the classroom, the proportion that people THINK they know about what's best for kids and what's ACTUALLY best for them gets exponentially larger.

I mean, for crying out loud, the picture on the GEPA last year was of a mother holding a baby while sitting at a computer. HOW THE HELL ARE MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS SUPPOSED TO RELATE TO THAT??? (No jokes about teen pregnancies please, I'm serious.)

Good luck, Elphie, with your teaching career. The BS they put teachers through is astounding (both in terms of expectations and salary/contract things) -- thank GOD I love working with the kids so much or there's no way I'd be able to stay in this job.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 12/14/05 at 10:01pm

Unfortunately, in high school I think the HSPA causes as many problems as the GEPA does in middle school. Those are some crazy tests. I remember taking them and thinking that they were such a joke.
In relation to the new SATs with a writing section, I've heard that colleges basically ignore the writing score because they realize that there are issues with grading that section. I suppose it's good that colleges recognize the problem.
I think that a love of teaching and a strong desire to help the kids become better writers and learners is the best way to cope with the BS that occurs. I'm going into teaching for the same reason as you; for the interaction with the kids and due to a possibly naive belief that, despite the insane bureaucracy going on, I might still be able to help a few kids learn something useful.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 12/14/05 at 10:32pm

These issues and the garbage that the NYC Dept of Education is forcing upon us has made me disgusted that I've been a teacher for 34 years. I feel as thoough I've wasted my life in the classroom

[jasonf]

Posted: 12/14/05 at 10:36pm

dollypop -- I'm sure you've done amazing things for the kids you've taught. That's what really matters in the end.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 6:44am

I've been a high school English teacher for 12 years. I originally hated the job, but it has really grown on me and I cannot imagine doing anything else. I do really hate the bureaucracy most of the time, though, but I figure that educating young people is the most important thing that I can do.