Edubabble and other Blither

I have become one of them. It's taken almost 14 years, and I said it would never, ever happen, but as with so many other things in my life, it has come to pass and makes me a hypocrite yet again. These other things have included: drinking, smoking, cursing, having sex with boyfriends, having sex with acquaintenances, getting an SUV, being overweight, and certainly countless others, although not in that order.

I am one of them, meaning those teachers who just want to do their job, do not want to attend yet another in-service that will make no difference in education. One of those teachers who do not want someone who hasn't stood in front of his own class in over ten years tell me what I should do when I stand in front of mine.

I am one of them, meaning someone who no longer cares about a dog and pony show. Someone who just wants to see all her classes for at least two weeks in a row, is that so wrong?? Someone who realizes we cannot do it all. We cannot make sure the students are well-fed, well-mannered, have high self-esteem, get high test scores, do not have high BMI's.

I am someone who wants the kids to appreciate the beauty and power of words, to know they can harness that beauty and power. I want them to think about things other than eliminating wrong answers and did they score high enough on the practice test to be kept out of a remedial math or reading lab next year?

I am one of them, meaning I don't tell my higher-ups what they want to hear. I try to ask the unpopular, difficult questions. I announce that the emperor has no clothes.

Who am I kidding? I do announce that the emperor has no clothes. My professional self is vociferous. My regular self, not so much.

I have to admit that I'm probably speaking too soon. Snowdrifts, dirty and scowling, the size of dump trucks, still dominate the parkingscapes of plazas and malls. I still must scrape my windshield in the mornings or remember to leave on my defroster so I can use my remote starter. A nor'easter may still pummel us happily. Spring, nevertheless, peeks coyly down on us in the mornings, thanks to an early dose of daylight savings time.

At 7:30 this morning, the halls filled with kids as usual. What was unusual was the pace. This morning our middle school looked like the mall on senior citzens' day: jam-packed...no one really going anywhere, instead turning slowly in a circle, looking cranky, confused, disheveled, people occasionally demanding things rudely or complaining: "Hey, you didn't say there was a test, Mister!" "Are you kidding me???!!" "I hate my bus driver."

Our state assessments are this week. They begin tomorrow. I have lost an entire week of instruction due to weather, and, in addition to that, I've lost my second period class for all or at least part of the period 10 times easily due to assemblies, feel-good mentoring classes, two-hour delays, among other things. They may have missed a month of instruction all told.

Recently we were indoctrinated in security measures for this week. We had to sign papers avowing that we duly understand the measures to be taken to insure the integrity and validity of the assessments. People from The State may be paying visits to quiz us on said security measures, what adaptations can be made for students with disabilities, how to allow restroom breaks, how to correctly shuttle a student needing more time to an appropriate testing area, what to do in case a student dares to voice an original thought or show the slightest interest in learning. Principal Stan feels that we have a better than average chance of actually experiencing such security checks because of our recent award and our district's high scoring elementary schools. He did, thankfully, promise to put up one hell of a fight if anyone tries to enter rooms while our students are trying to concentrate. The man does have one hell of a set of balls (which will keep him from rising any higher in school administration), so he means it.