Question: How does one get away from standards based eduction and focus more on student interests? I have tried to do this several times, but I always feel like more and more things are being thrown at me by my administration that "have to be done this way". Its very frustrating. I like to focus on my students learning styles, but it seems like that is not always possible.
Connection: While talking about things that we would like to change about schools, my students mentioned how they thought that we shouldn't have to do social studies this year. I asked why, and they stated that because we do not have to take a state test over it, why bother? I found this statement upsetting in many ways. It is so important to know about our world, especially in society today, and the social studies curriculum is very interesting. In our standards based society, even children think that its only important to learn what is going to be tested on. I feel like exploration and learning are being ruined by this.
1 comment:
Katie, I was also disappointed to read about your kids' view that social studies is not important because it is not a tested subject. It certainly points to one of the negative consequences of standardized testing in certain subjects. Furthermore, it points to how standardization does not measure and help kids track an objectively determined set of skills--it very clearly functions as an ideology in suggesting to kids what is and is not important to learn, and why they should learn in the first place.
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