Behind the Times

I admit that I am a relic of a bygone era.  Although  I invested 34 years of my adult life in education, I always said that BubbaSpeaks would not be an educational blog.  Despite using it for a book study while at JN Kellett, I remain persuaded that resisting comment on educational matters is good for me.  Occasionally the call is just too strong, and resisting the urge to comment is futile and frustrating.  According to my granddaughter in first grade we have begun to test all first graders using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) in the very near future.  There is talk about testing kindergartners as well.

While MAP provides good information to teachers about individual students, unlike statewide tests, I can't help but wonder what we hope to gain.  Sure, we can teach them to produce better test results, but can we teach them to be better people?  It has long been my belief that children need better childhoods more than they need better test scores.  I realize the the State Accountability Act and NCLB indicate that the state and federal governments feel differently.  I question the wisdom of involving five and six year olds in such high stakes testing.  Test scores will rise, but children will suffer from more pressure, less time outdoors, and learning at that tender age that they don't meet our expectations.  Children at that age should believe to the core of their being that they can do ANYTHING.  To involve them in this grownup game of Gotcha is not appropriate.  What's next?  How about a test for newborns so we can really get a jump on all this testing?  We could even just e-mail their parents at birth to advise them that many will not meet our testing targets, thereby relegating them to second class citizenship.   Oh, and b the way, good luck and welcome to the world.  All this testing has already gone too far and should reduced or eliminated altogether.  It does no long term good and may very well do long term harm to children.  Just my humble opinion.

Movie Review - How Do You Know

I had high hopes for HDYK.  After all, its cast included Jack Nicholson, Reece Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, and others.  Nicholson is a genius and Reece Witherspoon is both talented and beautiful.  So how in the world did they come out with this mediocre movie that is shallower than your backyard creek.  The writing was awful, and the boom mike was visible sporadically throughout the movie.  It looked like the amateur hour for film school.  Don't misunderstand, Witherspoon is still gorgeous and Jack is still Jack, but the concept had so much potential that the average execution in making the movie seemed to produce a below average movie.  For what it's worth, save your $7.50 or see something else.  For us, the Tourist might be next.  After all, Johnny Depp is a genius and Angelina is beautiful and talented.  Hey!  Wait a minute.