"It is up to teachers to compensate for whatever is missing in their [children] lives. Give them a reason to come to school. We want kids to know that we value them. Give them something to look forward to."
This is a statement made by Jonathon Kozol, author of Savage Inequalities. He was speaking in the context of schools falling in around these students: leaking roofs, cockroaches, bare light bulbs, no textbooks.
Is it the building that makes the difference or the teachers?
Or both?
Look at the report cards for Vinton County Schools and Dublin Schools (there is a link under comparing . . .) Vinton County is still building the new buildings, Dublin has always had above average school buildings, yet the grade of "Continuous Improvement" has been given to both schools. SAME TESTS. You decide.
We can make a difference!
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As adults and teachers we have the responsibility of making the child's world a safe, inviting place to explore. The brain is a curious organ that wants to make sense of what the body is experinecing.
The influences that surround high stakes testing can be identified as: 1) accountability for what we need to do to prepare the child to achieve independence, 2) political/business for helping to assure that the workforce is developed and ready to be employed and 3) benchmark for determining what is working and what is not in terms of cognitive growth.
To compare schools against each other is really a minimal value thing. To compare a school to itself is a highly effective thing, this self comparison gives us excellent feedback as teachers and adults.
We really can't move forward unless we know where we are moving from.
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