Write!

This just in from San Antonio, Texas where my sister-in-law, a reading teacher, is engaged in testing today:

"However, today all computers and phones are off. It's the BIG DAY and security is tight. I asked if we had to show a picture ID to get our tests and the counselor said, "don't laugh." I don't doubt that in the future that will be a real possibility."

This is scary but funny. Photo ID, security, lock-down, threats of losing jobs, all a part of high-stakes testing and NCLB accountability. Noble, thoroughly professional attempts to obey the law of the land, yet completely tragic in it's consequences to the education of those children.

This is a full-blown example of treating children as a product to be passed or discarded. The fruit industry comes to mind. Pick the best and brightest for for the grocery shelves, take the imperfect and make sauce, jelly, and juice, discard the rest. That it's human life we're discarding seems to be lost in the argument. That even the best and the brightest are getting burned out and losing their curiosity and yearning for learning doesn't seem to be a concern.

NCLB is up for renewal this year. Write your congressman and senator. Write a letter to the editor. High-stakes testing is a crime against children, parents and teachers. Write!