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Friday, March 28, 2014

29: why do we apply exams?



When I walked around the corner to get to the  school,  with some surprise, I saw vans of different television channels. For a moment I imagined the worst, Had ocurred an accident?, Was there an order to close the school?, Had someone appeared dead inside one of the classrooms?, had a kid committed suicide?

I ran as fast as I could and when I was crossing the street, a mother pointed me with her finger and in a second  I had a camera on my face and  a microphone touched my nose. 

-He is a teacher of this school, he can talk about it... 


I felt panic!, perhaps they would know that I am against the text books?, another mother grabbed me by the arm and began to talk so fast, that it made me feel like in a supersonic airplane, she told me that a large group of parents was against the application of the State tests because they caused too much stress to children and those tests  did not count to the academic notes of students, so parents were considered them “unnecessarily stressful”.

I wanted to hug this mother for thinking of the good of her child and not only accepting what everyone thinks that it is right for her child. When I was ready, I asked the reporter to tell me what was his question before recording:
-Is it true that State Tests do not count for the academic evaluations of children?

It is true, nor evaluate knowledge, or understanding, the test is intended to analyze the memory capacity of the students.

-Do you agree with the boycott proposed by parents?

I don't have enough information from the protestants, but it seems to me that if parents have something to say about the education of their children, we must listen to them.

-What happens if a student refuses to answer the exam?

Probably he or she will suffer disciplinary action. 

Parents began to speak out at that moment and defended the right that parents have over their children's education, and if the tests cause them stress and this experience is not going to yield academically... 

What a heck?!, I think their  argument is pretty solid, I had never heard parents defending the right to refuse a test. That is not something that is seen every day.

I hope more voices to rise because this  demand is not absurd. Perhaps are we putting our children's education in hands that only see the numbers and not their minds?

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