 We are seeing signs – like the first robin we see after a long winter, or the first crocus popping its head up through the snow – of a return to Spring, a return to life, in education. Unfortunately, standardized testing mania has paralyzed teaching and learning. Like "the Blob"it has eaten schools alive. Like Godzilla terrifying humans, it has terrorized million of educators, parents and worst of all - students.  NCLB was signed into law in the United States in 2002, which started an increasingly ominous impact on education as schools began their transformation from "places of learning" to "test prep centers". 
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 Schools are struggling to find ways to transform themselves into centers of 21st century learning. They ask themselves how they can make school - education - more relevant for their students. Last summer my husband and I intentionally chose to drive, rather than fly, from central Texas to northern Arizona to work with a middle school. I wanted to take in the incredible scenery of the farms, plains, desert and the pine-forested, snow-capped mountains. It was an incredible experience, and the result was a plethora of possibilities and ideas for projects - just based upon our experiences on that drive. From environmental studies to science fiction and history, the ideas were fantastic. You may read about those in From Science Fiction to Science Fact and in STEM/STEAM Curriculum Ideas are All Around Us. While I consider myself an explorer and lifelong learner, fully committed to education that is relevant, rigorous and real word, and I always look for creative and exciting possibilities for project-based learning, I too, had an incredible experience recently in a visit to Mexico City. What the media show us about Mexico certainly had not conveyed to me the astounding wealth of resources in Mexico City and the United Mexican States. For one thing, it seemed to me that the people were very much more polite than the people here in the USA. Sorry about that, Americans! The media paint a picture of Mexico as being backward, dangerous, barren and poverty-stricken. While they certainly do have plenty of poverty, there is more to Mexico than squalor and uneducated heathens. In my first two days in Mexico several experiences jolted me into a new understanding of the immense possibilities there for educators - not only in Mexico, but worldwide. First was a trip to the Teotihuacan Pyramids, followed by lunch in a spectacular underground restaurant in a cave.  “The Blob” is a 1958 film starring Steve McQueen in his first leading role. Click here to watch the trailer! Note: this post is a bit of a rant expressing my observations and frustrations over the continuing, and to me, inane, practices plaguing education since the inception of NCLB. The purpose of this article is not to denigrate educators, although I realize it sounds like that sometimes. I can say that the classroom teachers are not responsible for these practices; they were forced upon them. For several years now I have been equating a film, in which a monster called "The Blob" threatens to destroy all life on Earth, to the ongoing standardized testing mania that has been spreading, growing and destroying education. It began in the United States, in Texas to be exact (where I live), and this monster which I have named Standardized Testing Mania has spread virtually all over the planet - like the Blob or a pandemic. The definition of genius is taking the complex  More than a rant, though, this is an invitation for you to reflect upon the damage this situation has done to students, educators and parents. And an invitation to begin a conversation - here and at your school or in your community. I offer some questions to spark your conversations. |
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