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Monday, December 14, 2015

The district cancels Christmas

From a reader:

Since last Thursday, my elementary students have been taking daily tests, an hour and a half each day, with no break. This will last for a full week, ending this Thursday. Yet, on top of the excessive amount of testing in their week, the district still expects us to teach a lesson from the modules, for ela and math, on each of these testing days. Could this be any worse? 

Yes... Because we have also been told our yearly class holiday party, which the kids and their families look forward to, will have to be replaced with the ela and math lessons, too. The priority is the curriculum, not the children. 

My students are joyful, talkative, curious, excitable, and filled with laughter and love. I am being asked to stifle that. I am being told to put out the lights in their eyes, and force my kids, day after day, to endure this frustrating, monotonous, developmentally inappropriate curriculum. My heart breaks, because these children have been entrusted to me, to my school, to Duval county... We are failing them.

5 comments:

  1. Well, duh.
    Every school, every classroom, every student, every day.
    Bah humbug.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Where is the outrage from the parents? I do not understand why parents refuse to band together and speak up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of all the things to set off an angry group of parents, interfering with holiday parties is the best way to do it. However, causing harm to their kids' education that will take years to fix? Silence.

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  3. I'm not a fan of classroom parties. I have way too many kids to manage and quite a few of them can't be trusted to act in a decent manner if given the least bit of freedom. With that said, our party is Friday regardless of what the District wants. My students are overworked, overwhelmed, and over this module.

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  4. The word I plan to use going forward for anyone telling me to teach these horrible lessons or follow their framework or implement developmentally inappropriate activities is going to be NO! We have to stand up and do what is right for our students. Say NO! We are working with children. Let them be children! Enough is enough.

    ReplyDelete