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If it were only true... Michael Mau teaches English. The PISA is the only one I know of that tests reading internationally. The U.S. ranked 24th and Russia ranked 41st. I'm not sure why he thinks his district did away with art. I checked, it was still there, along with band and everything else. It seems he personally moved the art teacher, Mrs. Spurlock, to Starbucks without the district or her actually knowing anything about it. I think this was a work of fiction that was really meant to stir people up more than address a reality. State assessments have been around since Mr. Mau started teaching, so he knew this going in.
The main reason I dislike this article though is not because it is purely a fabrication of Mau's mind, but that it has a negative, defeatist mentality. I wish a dedicated educator like Mau would write something that would inspire positive change in education. The way he writes is not a good reflection of the Jessamine County School District and I don't think he is being a good representative of his school. I personally don't think he actually believes what he wrote to be true, but to be sensationalist. I think this article deserves a wag of the finger.
I read this letter several times, and I cannot see how anyone would read it as anything other than satire. The readers of McSweeney's as well as all of the other platforms where this letter was reposted can see that. Sometimes you have to distort the facts to tell the truth. Michael Mau is speaking to an audience bigger than Jessamine County, Tennessee and this Ms. Spurlock.If his school is not actually like the one in the letter, great. However, many of our schools are, and teachers are too scared to speak up. You call it sensationalist--I say it's sensational.
I am a teacher too, and I feel exactly the same way the author of the test does. Except for one thing - I don't blame parents. Parents hate the testing too - unfortunately, they really have no idea how it affects their children's days. Most parents are really clueless about what is happening in the schools.
If Mr. Mau is so passionate about teaching, he should consider looking for employment in a private or charter school that will let him run his classroom the way he wants.
Then he will be a true professional instead of a cog in the public school machine.
Of course, that would probably mean taking a pay cut and giving up some benefits....
Teachers at charter schools need to jump through the same hoops. We had our kids in a charter for a year in an effort to avoid the testing, testing, testing, but alas, they're bound by the same rules as the public schools. It's a shame...
What does art, music and drama have to do with high school English?
Is this a serious question? If it is I will answer it. Art, music and drama are intertwined. They are ways of expressing human thought and emotion. In addition to being related to high school English they are also related to history. Being able to read, analyze and express thoughts is a skill that is 100% necessary. Communication is a 21st century skill. Communication includes art, music and drama. There is more than one way to express thoughts.
Teachers at charter schools need to jump through the same hoops. We had our kids in a charter for a year in an effort to avoid the testing, testing, testing, but alas, they're bound by the same rules as the public schools. It's a shame...
Didn't we get here because American kids were falling behind kids from other parts of the world? So it's not like the old way was working out brilliantly either. Basically we traded one unsuccessful one-size-fits-all education method with another.
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