I continue to be stunned by our complicity as a profession. How did we allow ourselves to be co-opted into becoming foot soldiers in a war on children? Students here in New York have been "choosing" to sit with a test for 3, 4, 5 hours and more. No normal, healthy child would make this decision. We are preying on the weaknesses of children with anxiety issues, OCD, a heightened need to please teachers and parents, or a host of other possible reasons to "choose" to take a test for so long. When I asked at school if we had an obligation to tell parents how long their children had been testing for, I was looked at like I was crazy. My own colleagues don't think there's a problem with the insanity un-timed tests are causing.
And I don’t see anyone reporting this in the news. (I’ve tried contacting many media outlets. I’m inexperienced at how to do this effectively, and so haven’t had one positive response yet.)
I don’t even see much chatter on the internet or on blogs. (Although maybe they’re in places I’m not visiting…)
This whole situation has created chaos, confusion, and a lot of crazy thinking.
I am tired of being forced into being complicit in the State’s illogical decisions and directives.
Has anyone heard of the Milgram or Stanford Prison Experiments? They were both wildly successful studies of exactly what human adults are capable of doing in the name of blind obedience.
Has anyone heard of the Milgram or Stanford Prison Experiments? They were both wildly successful studies of exactly what human adults are capable of doing in the name of blind obedience.
I, for one, refuse to be blindly obedient.
I feel a lonely voice of one from where I teach, but my tiny inaudible voice will not be silenced.
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