As I walked towards my class Monday, I saw Mary walking in my direction. I secretly hoped she wouldn't see me because she did not pass last semester and I didn't know what her reaction to me would be.Well, Mary did see me. She ran over and threw her arms around me in on of the biggest hugs ever. She told me she knew she couldn't pass that class. (I had tried, unsuccessfully, to get her to drop and take a remedial in its place.). She told me I did more to help her than any teacher ever had and vowed to find a way to improve her math skills and pass next time around. I walked away feeling at the top of my game, knowing I made a difference in some one's life.
Did you read what she told me. Mr. Education Mayor, Mr. President? Test scores aren't everything. There is more to education than a number on a page! Helping and teaching students is not a score on an exam. The students know this, why don't you? Stop playing games with our schools. Admit you don't care about the kids of this country. Keeping budgets low by constantly hiring new and getting rid of old teachers is what it is all about. Keeping the pockets of the testing companies full is also your priority.
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Last year I had a self contained class of seniors. Many of them were one or two RCTs away from graduating with a local diploma if they could pass them along with the credits they were taking senior year. I had a student who just couldn't make it to second period. I was distributing some papers in regard to tutoring one period and again he was not their in my class. I knew where he would be two periods later but I had a class. I thought quickly got a teacher to cover it and ran as quickly as I could to where I knew he would be. I was literally sweating to get him this piece of paper. He saw that I cared. He literally started crying (this is a true story). His attendance although not perfect thereafter greatly improved. He eventually passed the writing RCT. But see - where is the "VALUE ADDED" in thinking quickly and asking a techer in my dept to do me a favor and watch my class as I start running to give this student a paper? THERE IS NONE! Teachers do this kind of thing everyday yet in the eyes of deformers don't mean a thing.
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