Appalling
The following “simulated letter” was forwarded to me by a reform parent. It is apparently posted on some left-wing blog in town. The author of this simulated letter from a “5th grader” is Sandy Wickham, who was a teacher at Adams Elementary School, one of the city’s lowest performing schools. Her obvious point is that accountability testing somehow harms certain categories of students.
This letter from Wickham highlights why she was unable to educate children while she was a teacher. In her mind, children from lower income or minority families should not be pushed to succeed. School should be about having fun for these kids because there is no way that they can learn. In Wickham’s way of thinking, they are not wealthy white kids, so why on earth should we have any expectations of them?
Maybe Wickham failed as a teacher because she was so busy teaching kids how to take tests instead of simply providing kids with an education. Maybe if she would have taken the time to instill knowledge in these kids, they would have performed just fine. Maybe if this middle class woman (whose own children did not attend Adams) would have taught her children with an expectation that they are capable of learning, then just maybe they would continue to be excited about school as they move forward.
Maybe Wickham and others like her just don’t like the accountability that standardized tests bring to the system. Maybe it is easier to eliminate testing than to actually make a heroic effort to educate kids. The CSAPs aren’t perfect by any means. (They are, however, formulated each year by ex-teachers and educators). CSAPs are a snapshot of how well a school is serving its community and its kids. Despite all of the millions of dollars thrown at Adams over the years, it has not served its community well.
For the record, if any of the recesses or art, music, or physical education classes have been eliminated from any of the elementary schools, then that is a stupid decision on the part of the staffs at those schools.
February 16, 2007
A Letter from Tommy
Dear Mr. Superintendent, I am a 5th grade boy in one of your schools. My teacher told me that since I'm complaining to her all the time, I should write to you and tell you what I think. Then maybe you would tell other people who decide things for kids so we could get out of this mess. I usually don't write letters -- especially long ones! But I'm so MAD, I'm going to waste some of my time to be outdoors so you can hear from a kid who is sick, sick, sick of school. When I first started out in Kindergarten, it was actually fun. We did all kinds of cool stuff, and I couldn't wait to get back to see my teacher the next day to see what she wanted to do. Sometimes, I wish I could go back, but then I'd be starting all over again, and that's not good! I think it was about in 3rd grade that things started to really change. We had to learn to take tests and then all we did was testing, testing, testing. My 3rd grade teacher tried to make things interesting, but how interesting can you make a test? And it was never good enough! The scores would come back, and we'd have to try harder. Don't they know I was trying my hardest on the first test I took? That CSAP test really sucks!!! I was put into a special class to learn better test-taking skills. How boring is that? Then when I took the test again, it still wasn't good enough. The last straw was last year when they took our recesses away so we could have more time in class. Have you ever tried to sit on a hard chair with no breaks except to sharpen your pencil once in awhile? My mom says it's not normal to have to sit that long -- clear until lunch! They must think we're not really kids anymore or something. You know what happened this year? They cut back on the music and art classes! They said that we needed more time to prepare for that stupid CSAP. I'm really good at playing the drums and doing art projects, but now school isn't fun anymore. I have to take home all this homework. It's because we don't have time to do everything in class we need to do. They expect me to work sometimes 2 hours at night to catch up on all we missed during the day. My mom says there's no way she can help me with all of that, and I don't want to do it by myself. I want to spend some time with my friends. If I don't do my homework, I get in trouble with my teacher, and then she calls my mom. I wish I was back in Kindergarten. My older sister is 15. She has the right idea. Since they only have college-prep classes (whatever that is) in high school, she says she's gonna drop out next year. She wants to do her own thing and move out of the house because she's bored with school, too. I think they should let kids my age drop out, too. I don't want to go to middle school next year, and since they call me a computer whiz, I should be able to get a job. Maybe if I could give my mom some money, she wouldn't have to work 2 jobs. She says it's to make ends meet, but I think it's goofy. She doesn't have much time with me, and she's always tired. She doesn't want to worry about me and my sister and school stuff. She has to put food on the table and put gas in the car so she can go to work. Maybe if I could work, my mom could afford to give me an allowance, like some of the other kids. Mr. Superintendent, please check on this and let me know if I can drop out early. Your friend, Tommy
(Letter by Sandy Wickham, a retired D 11 teacher. Mrs. Wickham retired after several years at Adams Elementary, so she understands well the struggles of disadvantaged students with high stakes testing.)
The post mortem was written by Lois Fornander, from all accounts just a mediocre (at best) teacher in her own day. Fornander also believes that there are certain kids who just aren’t worth the effort – you know, those disadvantaged kids.
I recall a board meeting where Eric Christen mentioned that due to the poor performance of some of these schools, some kids would be better off staying at home. His point was that if these schools were not going to bother providing an education, why bother going to these schools? Fornander was one of those who pretended to be outraged over this Christen comment. Now Fornander praises this ex-teacher who suggests that it would be more reasonable for little Tommy to drop out of school than to have to feel the pressure to succeed. In their worldview, it isn't OK to say that a child should stay home if he isn't being taught anyway, but it is fine to say that he should stay home if he is being pushed too hard, especially if he is one of "those" kids. We wouldn't want to push these kids to the next level, would we?
The interesting fact about CSAPs is that they are designed to measure the performance of schools, not necessarily the individual students. In fact, one of the big complaints heard from anti-accountability advocates is that the CSAPs place no pressure on the kids at all because they do not impact the grades of those kids. In light of that fact, Wickham’s little letter is off key from the normal left-wing song and dance on this topic. Wickham really doesn’t mean “poor Tommy;” Wickham really means, “poor teachers.” She longs for the days when she could simply place an “A” or “B” on little Tommy’s report card and shuffle him off to the next grade, whether he could really read or perform basic math operations or not.
If you teach a “disadvantaged” child to read, he will do fine on any reading test. If you teach a “disadvantaged” kid how to perform basic math operations, he will do fine on the test. If you expect the “disadvantaged” kids to fail because of their income level or race, then they will rise (or fall) to your expectations. Maybe we would have far fewer “disadvantaged” kids if we actually provided them with the education that they need to provide for themselves and their families when they become adults.
CSAPs have only been around for a few years. Adams Elementary has been failing to educate kids for much longer than that. Wickham and Fornander were much more comfortable when their failures were not so publicly known.
Liberals strongly oppose any type of school accountability at all. They vehemently oppose giving parents a right to choose the school for their children, so that removes the ultimate parental accountability from the system. The petty Democrat thief Mike (Yard Sign) Merrifield is leading the charge to remove charter schools as a choice for parents, and now the liberals want to eliminate accountability testing from the equation. In short, they want a free ride at tax payer expense. As always, educating kids fits nowhere on their agenda. It is just too hard, especially when it comes to those “disadvantaged” kids.
This letter from Wickham highlights why she was unable to educate children while she was a teacher. In her mind, children from lower income or minority families should not be pushed to succeed. School should be about having fun for these kids because there is no way that they can learn. In Wickham’s way of thinking, they are not wealthy white kids, so why on earth should we have any expectations of them?
Maybe Wickham failed as a teacher because she was so busy teaching kids how to take tests instead of simply providing kids with an education. Maybe if she would have taken the time to instill knowledge in these kids, they would have performed just fine. Maybe if this middle class woman (whose own children did not attend Adams) would have taught her children with an expectation that they are capable of learning, then just maybe they would continue to be excited about school as they move forward.
Maybe Wickham and others like her just don’t like the accountability that standardized tests bring to the system. Maybe it is easier to eliminate testing than to actually make a heroic effort to educate kids. The CSAPs aren’t perfect by any means. (They are, however, formulated each year by ex-teachers and educators). CSAPs are a snapshot of how well a school is serving its community and its kids. Despite all of the millions of dollars thrown at Adams over the years, it has not served its community well.
For the record, if any of the recesses or art, music, or physical education classes have been eliminated from any of the elementary schools, then that is a stupid decision on the part of the staffs at those schools.
February 16, 2007
A Letter from Tommy
Dear Mr. Superintendent, I am a 5th grade boy in one of your schools. My teacher told me that since I'm complaining to her all the time, I should write to you and tell you what I think. Then maybe you would tell other people who decide things for kids so we could get out of this mess. I usually don't write letters -- especially long ones! But I'm so MAD, I'm going to waste some of my time to be outdoors so you can hear from a kid who is sick, sick, sick of school. When I first started out in Kindergarten, it was actually fun. We did all kinds of cool stuff, and I couldn't wait to get back to see my teacher the next day to see what she wanted to do. Sometimes, I wish I could go back, but then I'd be starting all over again, and that's not good! I think it was about in 3rd grade that things started to really change. We had to learn to take tests and then all we did was testing, testing, testing. My 3rd grade teacher tried to make things interesting, but how interesting can you make a test? And it was never good enough! The scores would come back, and we'd have to try harder. Don't they know I was trying my hardest on the first test I took? That CSAP test really sucks!!! I was put into a special class to learn better test-taking skills. How boring is that? Then when I took the test again, it still wasn't good enough. The last straw was last year when they took our recesses away so we could have more time in class. Have you ever tried to sit on a hard chair with no breaks except to sharpen your pencil once in awhile? My mom says it's not normal to have to sit that long -- clear until lunch! They must think we're not really kids anymore or something. You know what happened this year? They cut back on the music and art classes! They said that we needed more time to prepare for that stupid CSAP. I'm really good at playing the drums and doing art projects, but now school isn't fun anymore. I have to take home all this homework. It's because we don't have time to do everything in class we need to do. They expect me to work sometimes 2 hours at night to catch up on all we missed during the day. My mom says there's no way she can help me with all of that, and I don't want to do it by myself. I want to spend some time with my friends. If I don't do my homework, I get in trouble with my teacher, and then she calls my mom. I wish I was back in Kindergarten. My older sister is 15. She has the right idea. Since they only have college-prep classes (whatever that is) in high school, she says she's gonna drop out next year. She wants to do her own thing and move out of the house because she's bored with school, too. I think they should let kids my age drop out, too. I don't want to go to middle school next year, and since they call me a computer whiz, I should be able to get a job. Maybe if I could give my mom some money, she wouldn't have to work 2 jobs. She says it's to make ends meet, but I think it's goofy. She doesn't have much time with me, and she's always tired. She doesn't want to worry about me and my sister and school stuff. She has to put food on the table and put gas in the car so she can go to work. Maybe if I could work, my mom could afford to give me an allowance, like some of the other kids. Mr. Superintendent, please check on this and let me know if I can drop out early. Your friend, Tommy
(Letter by Sandy Wickham, a retired D 11 teacher. Mrs. Wickham retired after several years at Adams Elementary, so she understands well the struggles of disadvantaged students with high stakes testing.)
The post mortem was written by Lois Fornander, from all accounts just a mediocre (at best) teacher in her own day. Fornander also believes that there are certain kids who just aren’t worth the effort – you know, those disadvantaged kids.
I recall a board meeting where Eric Christen mentioned that due to the poor performance of some of these schools, some kids would be better off staying at home. His point was that if these schools were not going to bother providing an education, why bother going to these schools? Fornander was one of those who pretended to be outraged over this Christen comment. Now Fornander praises this ex-teacher who suggests that it would be more reasonable for little Tommy to drop out of school than to have to feel the pressure to succeed. In their worldview, it isn't OK to say that a child should stay home if he isn't being taught anyway, but it is fine to say that he should stay home if he is being pushed too hard, especially if he is one of "those" kids. We wouldn't want to push these kids to the next level, would we?
The interesting fact about CSAPs is that they are designed to measure the performance of schools, not necessarily the individual students. In fact, one of the big complaints heard from anti-accountability advocates is that the CSAPs place no pressure on the kids at all because they do not impact the grades of those kids. In light of that fact, Wickham’s little letter is off key from the normal left-wing song and dance on this topic. Wickham really doesn’t mean “poor Tommy;” Wickham really means, “poor teachers.” She longs for the days when she could simply place an “A” or “B” on little Tommy’s report card and shuffle him off to the next grade, whether he could really read or perform basic math operations or not.
If you teach a “disadvantaged” child to read, he will do fine on any reading test. If you teach a “disadvantaged” kid how to perform basic math operations, he will do fine on the test. If you expect the “disadvantaged” kids to fail because of their income level or race, then they will rise (or fall) to your expectations. Maybe we would have far fewer “disadvantaged” kids if we actually provided them with the education that they need to provide for themselves and their families when they become adults.
CSAPs have only been around for a few years. Adams Elementary has been failing to educate kids for much longer than that. Wickham and Fornander were much more comfortable when their failures were not so publicly known.
Liberals strongly oppose any type of school accountability at all. They vehemently oppose giving parents a right to choose the school for their children, so that removes the ultimate parental accountability from the system. The petty Democrat thief Mike (Yard Sign) Merrifield is leading the charge to remove charter schools as a choice for parents, and now the liberals want to eliminate accountability testing from the equation. In short, they want a free ride at tax payer expense. As always, educating kids fits nowhere on their agenda. It is just too hard, especially when it comes to those “disadvantaged” kids.
posted by Craig Cox | 4:41 PM
5 Comments:
There's a saying "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for life." How about "Teach a kid to take a test, get him through the test. Educate a kid, get him through life." Apparently, these two former teachers (thank goodness they're retired), don't understand what it means to really educate kids. They just don't get it.
Mr. Cox,
Let me say that I have never been a fan of the "reformers" on the D11 board, but I will admit that I have never followed things too closely in the district until recently. I will also have to admit that after reading through this blog, you have really made me stop and think about many issues. Don't come to any quick conclusions and think that you have completely won over a new reformer. I'm just saying that my eyes are a little more open to some of the disturbing issues in the district.
You (and I) know nothing about the teaching abilities of Ms.Wickham and Ms. Fornander. Yet you've labeled them as "poor" teachers simply becuase they disagree with your political philosophy.
Nowehere in Ms.Wickham's piece does she mention race as a factor, yet you insist on making this into a racial issue, hoping to score points with the minority community. That's patronizing, at the very least.
People like you demand higher CSAP scores. The only way that happens is to "teach to the test". If the CSAP was a decent test to begin with, then you could simply "educate" a kid and they'd do well on the test --- but the CSAP isn't that good a test to begin with. You've admitted that yourself, when it serves your purposes.
Fact is, there's simply too much emphasis placed on CSAPs. If it shows all you claim it shows about teachers' abilities, then I guess it also is an accurate reflection of how students' abilities, too. So I have an idea: let's do away with all grades for kids; let's just teach them and teach them and teach then, and then let them take the CSAPs. That'll decide how they did that year, and whether or not they get to move onto the next grade.
Yeah, it's ridiculous to put that much stock in CSAPs, isn't it?
This system is rotting from within and these "teachers" and their ilk are handmaidens in its demise.
These kids must be saved yet those who try are attacked as the enemy. What in god's name is wrong with the voters (the few who do vote)in D11? Are creatures like Fordnander (a vicious, terrible women from what I have seen of her on T.V.)and this teacher ever going to be held accoutnable for the damage they have caused? And where is that creep Tom Watson (aka "Anonymous) been lately? Has even he given up trying to defend this crap?
"Sad," you are right on the money.
Andrea, I will make no assumptions about whether you are becoming a "reform" thinker, but the more you know about the dirty underbelly of this public district that is supposed to care about you and your kids and your tax dollars, the more you will understand how much needs to change.
"Anony #1," I do know about these 2 ex-teachers from their fellow teachers. Attacking someone simply because one disagrees with them is something that you union types are required to do. The only ones patronizing minorities are those of you who say that these kids are unable to handle the same types of pressures as white or wealthy kids and that they are certainly not able to learn as well. No, you don't have to teach the test. That is completely wrong. Yes, you do have to teach the kids; that is why you are titled "teacher." You make it seem as if there is something wrong with simply educating kids. They will do fine on tests if you figure out how to teach them. The first step is to stop making your racist excuses. I have a better idea than yours. Let's do away with CSAPs and simply allow parents to take their tax dollars (yes, THEIR tax dollars, Watson, not yours)and allow parents to take THEIR kids and send the kids and the corresponding tax dollars to the schools of their choice. Problem solved. My guess is that under that system, the public schools would improve and would actually do just fine.
"Anony #2," no he has not stopped defending mediocrity. See above.
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