Copyrights reserved by the author. If you are in doubt, please click on 'Copyrights' and read the details.Data does not define who our children are By J. G. Fabiano I have always been proud of my students. As a teacher for over a quarter I have watched thousands of talented young men and women work hard to become major contributors of their generation. I guess this is why teachers become teachers. I also agree there should be specific competencies our students should master before they are promoted to the next stage of their education. But, I do not believe in the governmental policies of today concerning public education. Many believe I am a dinosaur and should retire into the tar pit because of my refusal to sign in on the too many policies of 'No Child Left Behind." Maybe they are correct but before I go I have to defend the very reasons why I decided to become a teacher in the first place. I have never been a fan of standardized tests but realize this is an important part of our public education system in order to make sure all our children have similar competencies when they graduate high school. However, like most bureaucracies, 'The No Child Left Behind" education reform is getting out of hand and by doing this is losing any of the effectiveness it promised. For the next few months many of our children will be suffering through these standardized tests calibrating data in order to see if they received a good education. As a teacher I am perpetually checking to see if my students understand what I am trying to teach them. In doing this I clearly understand they are not all the same. Some of my students do well on written tests while others do not. Some of my students do well on hands on activities while many other do not. Anyone who has a family of more than one child clearly understands this. The problem with the standardized tests is they are standardized that means this reality is ignored. I have never considered my students as points of data. Data is simply not a living thing. It can only describe what the data taker is trying to define. Being a science teacher I can statistically prove I am 35 years old, 6'4", and weigh 185 lbs. Anyone who knows me understands this is not correct. But, I appreciate the fact I work with extremely talented and compassionate people. I know this because of what your children do during their 180 or so days at school. Last week I worked with a group of students involved in a blood drive at school. This happens all over our nation at most public schools because it is common knowledge that anyone who gives blood is a hero who definitely has the potential of saving a live. What struck me the most during this particular blood drive was many of the donors were students at my school. They took time away from their busy lives, and believe me when I say I know they have lives that are much busier than what defined our lives during our school day years, and waited for well over two hours so they could make a difference in someone else's life. This was the first time many of my students gave blood. Many were scared and did not know what to expect. But, this did not stop them from giving because they were taught by both their families and their school the backbone of every society is defined by how the members of their society help each other. Watching as my students both ran the drive and gave blood I wondered how many of the people involved in the tests ever thought of testing these students on their citizenship. Heck, I wondered how many of the test people were ever involved in what my students were currently involved in. You see data does not define what people are; actions do. This is not the first time I have been proud of my students. In fact, I can remember few times when I have not been proud of any of my students. Thinking back at the last and all other holiday seasons I remember watching hundreds of young men and women build food baskets so they could be delivered to people who desperately needed them. I also remember these same students going house to house, trick or canning instead of trick or treating so they could fill the baskets for the upcoming holiday season. There have been so many instances of how our children take care of their own community there would not be enough room in this column to describe them. I have always been proud of my students. As a teacher for over a quarter I have watched thousands of talented men and women work hard to become major contributors of their generation. During this time of year I find myself defending them against the many ignorant individuals who are involved in public education who believe a score on a test defines an individual. I tell them data has no heart and soul. My students have both and they are very large. The End.
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