This teacher had to make a tough decision about parent night.
Should he tell them how the state’s “reforms” are robbing their children of instruction?
Should he explain that the state is hunting “bad” teachers in his school even though it got a high rating?
See what he did.
If every teacher did this, we could turn the education debate around.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I am seriously considering filing a complaint against my district for the insane amount of teaching time lost to 1:1 kindergarten testing.
My fourth grader had a sub the other day so that the classroom teacher could be out in the hall giving one on one reading assessments to each child. These children are so capable that they are “accelerated” in language arts, meaning they are taught the curriculum of the grade level above them (they switch classes so that they are with their same level peers) but still we must pre-test them…allfor the sake of finding the teacher’s merit, and all of this at a school that was awarded national blue ribbon this year.
So unnecessary.
Money put out for 3 things…..your salary, a sub’s salary and the cost of the tests. Did you get a salary increase this year or any additional money for supplies? I think I probably know the answer.
In my district, we have a bunch of tests required by the district. They don’t inform my instruction other than to tell me who is high and who is low, which I usually have figured out by the 2nd week of school. After I get through the required district tests, THEN I can do some assessments that actually inform my instruction. How’s that for wasted time?
Gutsy teacher. Someone please follow him and let us know if he suffers retaliation!
This brother is the kind of teacher the schools need. Unfortunately, he is also the kind that the schools fire.
Right. Let’s follow a way to get fired more expeditiously. Why wait for “Race to the flop”evaluations based on student test scores?
Diane,
Thanks for sharing my “Meet the Teacher Night” posting. I am thrilled to see so many great responses. To those of you worrying about retaliation, please keep in mind I fulfilled my responsibilities that night. I explained my classroom procedures, I went over expectations, and then I informed parents of what the year was going to happen this year. I “played by their rules”.
Some of your readers,picked up on the Pres. Obama speech issue. There too, I found a way to do the right thing in a way that followed my administration’s ridiculous directive. Be creative, it sends a message that they shouldn’t mess with you.
We all need to find our own way to inform parents of how education reform isn’t really reform at all. Do your homework, stay informed and share as often as you can. Not only is the future of our noble profession at stake, the future of our nation lies in our hands.
Speak up, speak out, speak often. And never, ever allow anyone to force you to check your First Amendment rights at the school house door.
There are ways to get the message out and still follow the directives. I think you did a fine job of doing that. Do hope you hit a nerve with some of your parents that will begin to see some action to stop the madness.
You can also follow rratto on Twitter! Inspiration to us all – thanks rratto!
Don’t forget that those teachers who have to spend their days in the hall doing 1:1 assessments must also write sub plans for their substitute teachers. Making sub plans is a huge amount of work for me given the nature of my area of teaching, but I don’t think that I am unusual in my inability to just crank them out. One has to write helpful plans in order for the substitute to feel respected and welcomed, and be productive.