State test “puke” policy trumps parents refusal attempts.

APRIL 18, 2013 BY TIMOTHY D. SLEKAR 6 COMMENTS

http://atthechalkface.com/2013/04/18/state-test-puke-policy-trumps-parents-refusal-attempts/

After the first week of opt out or “refusals” across the country there have been some interesting stories emerging—one that is bit troubling. I won’t call it a trend but it is worth mentioning.

Principals and teachers are coercing children into taking state tests even after parents have made it clear that they do not want their children to take the tests.

Example: Last night I posted the following Facebook comment from @the chalkface’s Kris Nielsen.

Parents from all over the state are reporting more threats from school personnel, as children are told that if they refuse, their teachers will lose their jobs. First of all, that’s a lie. Second of all, it’s horribly unfair for anyone to try to place that type of stress and anxiety on any child.

This was followed up with:
Sue: I love educators, have the utmost respect and admiration for them. Most of them. I used to give all teachers the benefit of the doubt. Not after this.

Whether one thinks they are simply following the letter of the law or not, as a fellow human being and the adult charged with supporting the education and well-being of (often young) children, one ALWAYS has a choice. The teachers and staff “handling” my 8-year old child yesterday had a choice. They had my written refusal. They had no problem pushing this test on her through their smiles, in direct opposition of my express refusal, not request.

They pulled her to make up yesterday’s test as I had brought her to school after testing yesterday. She was seated at a conference table with two other kids testing and the ESE Specialist seated across from her…

She was given the test, and was told, “You can start the test now.” She held out for 5 minutes, in silence, as the ESE Specialist watched and smiled at her. Can you imagine how long that 5 minutes was for her? In her words, “She was watching me… so I took the test. I was mad when she gave me the test, and I was mad during the whole test.” Of course. She did exactly as they planned. She was disappointed in herself, until I told her that she did good, and did not let me down. I am FURIOUS! Should have seen it coming. She still does not want to test, and I won’t put her in that position again. So I’ll keep her home for the next 8 days of testing. Even after that, her innocent, but wise heart can still let her say, “I don’t think she wanted to make me take the test. I think the County makes her do it.”

What must it do to their psyche to force so young a child to do something they KNOW goes against the wishes of that child’s parents? What do they have to tell themselves to be able to look their own kids in the eye after that? I wonder how many consider how THEY might feel to have someone else force their own child to do something against their own wishes as a parent.

Maybe when I’m not so bitter and angry, I will think differently and can be more generous. Right now, I think their behavior was unconscionable, no matter what the Law says. Don’t we have enough examples in history where good people were doing horrible things, and they were simply following the Law? We have had many bad laws on the books. Not everyone followed them. There were many who were able to listen instead, to their conscience, and did the right thing, sometimes at great cost to themselves. Going along, not choosing, not looking, not seeing – are also choices.

I don’t make excuses for bad behavior anymore. Not anyone’s. They have poked the Momma Bear.

Riley: That is horrific! What test was she taking? Omg, I need to prep for this possibility.

Sue: We are in Florida, so we have the FCAT, or as my daughter wrote, “Florida’s Children Have Assessments that Torture them.” Lovely, isn’t it? See what I just posted on Mark Naison‘s page. Enough to make you vomit. Oh! Speaking of… We don’t have policy for opting out, but we do have actual policy for how to handle vomit on tests. Straight from our DOE.

Riley: We have a vomit policy in NJ, too. The state believes I should transcribe my student’s work from the vomit booklet in a clean booklet. Ummm, no.

How warped has this system of test and punish become? We have teachers and principals (probably being bullied from above) coercing students to take tests against the wishes of the students’ parents. And if the pressure on the student is just too much to take and they happen to puke on the test, we literally have “puke policies” on how to save the precious data.

Someone has to say it! How about civil disobedience through puking?

Follow Timothy D. Slekar on Twitter: www.twitter.com/slekar