Spring . . . coming soon . . . please!

I am truly ready for spring.  I want to feel warm sun and mild air.   We've had some beautiful weather this winter but I'm getting tired of driving my car when it's covered with road salt and dirt . . . although I have a secret yearning to spend money that we don't have on a ski vacation.  

Here is my attempt to force Punxatawney Phil, albeit belatedly, to either see or not see his shadow--whichever is the one that encourages and early spring.  

Okay, time to rant . . . I really like being a teacher.  I do.  Being a music teacher is often busy and stressful but has many moments where I can't believe that my job is to simply make music with kids all day.  It's truly amazing when my kids come in and say "Listen to me play this song".  There is no better feeling as a teacher when kids are proud to show you what they can do . . . being proud of students is one of the best parts of being a teacher.

However, I am finding it difficult to be appropriate when my students complain about standardized testing.  Our students are currently in the middle of their second consecutive week of standardized testing.  This process has become invasive into the educational process.  We spend more time testing and preparing for testing than we spend teaching . . . okay, not really but it seems like it.  

Standardized tests were created to provide statistical information about a school system's curriculum.  The original purpose was to show schools potential skills that needed to be addressed within the curriculum and classroom instruction.  Politicians have decided, in their effort to show that schools and students are accountable, to use these tests to determine individual progress. I wish that all politicians would have to come in and watch students take these tests.  I could go on and on about the detrimental effects of this process but it is too infuriating.  

In addition, these tests incur a huge cost to school districts.  Imagine what we could do with the funds that are spent on testing!  We could do things that are proven to actually improve student achievement . . . gee what a thought!  Sometimes I wonder if the general public truly understands the unfunded mandates that politicians impose upon school districts.  Perhaps our frustration with school funding could be directed at those who cause all the red tape and bureaucracy that takes a huge amount of funding away from schools.