A Month Wasted

Silence.

The soft click of keys tapping out answers, a mouse being clicked to go on to the next question.

The faint scratch of pencil on paper, working out a problem.

The silent & internal struggle of a difficult question crosses a young face.

Glazed eyes stare blankly at a computer screen, not understanding what they see.

Heads hung low with internal conflict, being made to feel stupid by a question they do not understand.

Sobs muffled behind closed lips so as not to disturb the testers around them.

A teacher's heartbreak as a special needs student begs for help that the teacher is prevented by test rules from giving.

Sigh of relief when answers can be submitted & the test ends.

Then the next day, it starts all over again.

Three weeks, almost a full month of learning lost & never to be regained to the monster of high stakes testing.

(Side note: Unfortunately, teacher are prevented from telling parents that they have the right to opt out of standardized testing.  Kids don't have to take these high-stakes tests.  While some tests are used to help gauge a student's academic level & see where they are struggling, high-stakes testing does not.  It also takes away learning time from the students.)

Childhood Nostalgia

I have always loved to read, even as a small child.  According to my mom, I've been reading since I was four years old.  Being a child that didn't have a lot of friends, reading became my way to learn new things, go different places, and see amazing things, all while sitting comfortably on my couch.

One of my absolutely favorite books from my childhood is Chocolate Fever.  It is about a young boy who loved chocolate so much that he ate it with everything and at every meal.  This caused him to break out into chocolate spots all over his body.  He spends the rest of book going on adventures while he tries to find a cure to his "chocolate fever".

This particular book holds up today since they really make no mention of any technology, which can make a book seem dated to kids.  They also keep it simple and really focused on the interactions between the characters.  Its message is a great one but I won't say what it is since you won't read the book if I give you the answer.

Reading is and always will be one of my favorite past times because of all the adventures that can be found between the pages of a book.

My copy actually has this cover