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Suzie Nestico

Father: Why I didn't let my son take standardized tests - The Answer Sheet - The Washin... - 0 views

www.washingtonpost.com/...ABkgICTB_blog.html

edu_news administrator all_teachers curriculum education reform education standardized tests standardized testing

shared by Suzie Nestico on 27 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • My wife and I had Luke “opt out” of No Child Left Behind standardized testing (here in Pennsylvania known as the Pennsylvania System of School Achievement, or PSSAs).
  • Last week I did just that. I looked at the test and determined that it violated my religion. How, you might ask? That’s an entirely different blog, but I can quickly say that my religion does not allow for or tolerate the act of torture and I determined that making Luke sit for over 10 hours filling in bubble sheets would have been a form of mental and physical torture, given that we could give him no good reason as to why he needs to take this test.
  • ch a reason for opting out of the PSSA testing will negatively affect the school’s participation rate and could POTENTIALLY have a negative impact on the school’s Adequate Yearly Progress under the rules of No Child Left Behind.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • I asked Luke what he thought about it all. He just smiled. I also asked him what some of his friends were saying. According to Luke, they did not believe that NCLB and PSSAs were going to be used to evaluate the school. They didn’t know about AYP and the sanctions that came with it. Luke’s friends just thought the tests, “were used to make sure our teachers are teaching us the right stuff.” My guess is that is what most parents believe. Why wouldn’t they believe it? They’ve been told for nine years that we are raising standards, holding teachers accountable, and leaving no children behind. Who wouldn’t support that?
  • This time, instead of having Luke sit through another meeting, he researched the Japanese earthquake and tsunami as a current events project.
  • The point was to give Luke some experience in how to conduct planned civil disobedience in a lawful manner.
  • That, of course, is the real problem. NCLB and the standards movement is a political bait and switch. Sold as one thing (positive) to the public and then in practice, something radically different (punitive). This is probably one of the biggest reasons I decided to do the boycott—to make my community aware and to try and enlighten them of the real issues.
  • My answer is that the government is not listening. Teachers, principals, teacher educators, child development specialists, and educational researchers have been trying to get this message out for years. No one will listen.
  • Civil disobedience is the only option left. It’s my scream in a dark cave for light. I want teachers to teach again. I want principals to lead again. I want my school to be a place of deep learning and a deeper love of teaching. I want children exposed to history, science, art, music, physical education, and current events—the same experience President Obama is providing his own children.
  • Maybe civil disobedience will be contagious. Maybe parents will join us in reclaiming our schools and demand that teachers and administrators hands be untied and allow them to do their jobs—engage students in a rich curriculum designed to promote deep learning and critical thinking.
  • Suzie Nestico on 27 Mar 11
     
    Another PA parent opts his child out of PSSA standardized testing as a measure of civil disobedience.  Word of caution:  This can very much hurt a school's Adequate Yearly Progress and ultimately the school may suffer.  But, what if this movement spread amongst parents?  What then?  Would the government take over the school?  
tee1962 Reagan

Teachers are key for students who like learning and remain curious - USATODAY.com - 0 views

www.usatoday.com/...2009-07-05-hateschool_N.htm

shared by tee1962 Reagan on 06 Jul 09 - No Cached
  • or says, is to "maximize the likelihood that students will get the pleasurable rush that comes from successful thought.
  • So the challenge for a teacher is to find that sweet spot of mental difficulty, and to find it simultaneously for 25 students, each with a different level of preparation.
  • Rather, we remember what we think about, and that can have non-obvious consequences. During frog dissection, are students thinking about anatomy or that they find it gross?
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • One way to help ensure that students think of content is to view teaching in terms of a story structure.
  • Good teachers design lessons in which students unavoidably think about the meaning or central point.
  • People differ in their abilities and in their interests, but there is no evidence for differences in learning styles.
  • The secret to getting smarter is really not a big secret: Engage in intellectual activities. Read the newspaper, watch informative documentaries, find well-written books that make intellectual content engaging. Perhaps most important; Watch less television. It's rarely enriching, and it's an enormous time-sink.
Martin Burrett

Sports involvement linked to fewer depressive symptoms in children - 1 views

ukedchat.com/...sports-involvement

Sports mental health depression

shared by Martin Burrett on 29 Mar 19 - No Cached
  • Martin Burrett on 29 Mar 19
     
    "Participation in team sports is associated with fewer depressive symptoms in children, whereas non-sport activities have no association with symptoms, according to a study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, published by Elsevier. The association was found only for boys. The findings suggest that exercise could have anti-depressant effects in adolescents. "These interesting results provide important clues as to how exercise benefits mood in children and reveals the important role that gender plays in these effects," said Cameron Carter, MD, Editor of Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging."
Martin Burrett

Depression: Impact and Support - 0 views

ukedchat.com/...depression-impact-support

depression mental health

shared by Martin Burrett on 30 Jan 19 - No Cached
  • Martin Burrett on 30 Jan 19
     
    "Despite the prevalence of depression in the population, the devastating impact it can have, and the rise in public awareness in recent years, schools (and society at large) still find depression a taboo. Something which is often ignored and misunderstood. Where support is available wonderful things can happen mitigating some many of the pressures when the black dog comes barking. While a societal shift is needed, there are many, often small things that educators can do to help those who need help."
C CC

Activity Passport Bookmark - UKEdChat - 1 views

ukedchat.com/...activity-passport-bookmark

teaching children activities mental-health health

shared by C CC on 01 Jan 19 - No Cached
Martin Burrett

Are you a Healthy Teacher? - 1 views

ukedchat.com/...are-you-a-healthy-teacher

health mental health stress well-being wellbeing

shared by Martin Burrett on 22 May 18 - No Cached
  • Martin Burrett on 22 May 18
     
    "Teachers are notorious for ignoring health concerns and just carrying on. From teaching with a high fever, and soldiering on with 4 hours of sleep, teachers often put their health at risk. But done this make teachers more productive, or less?"
Martin Burrett

Anxiety by @sheep2763 - 2 views

ukedchat.com/...anxiety-by-sheep2763

anxiety mental health

shared by Martin Burrett on 20 Nov 17 - No Cached
  • Martin Burrett on 20 Nov 17
     
    "These children are not trying to be awkward, they would love to walk into a classroom, sit down listen, not worry who is near them, not panic when there is a different teacher, not care if someone sees them hang their coat up. Sometimes they can get into the school but not into the classroom. Sometimes they can get out of the house but not through the school gates. Professionals saying, "Just tell them they are going," is brilliant in theory but, even with an 8-year-old, sometimes impossible in practice."
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