Dang, It Hurts To Swallow...

...and I am glad for the Good Friday Holiday tomorrow. I need some sleep, although my melatonin seems to have picked now to not work so well.

The dark days of testing are nearly upon us, and I find my blood pressure rising for various reasons. It becomes increasingly clear that our Secretary of Education has declared open season on teachers, finding that the solution to the perception of failure is to sack the staff. Maybe we could have witch trials and burnings at the stake. Meanwhile, I am in a data class at the University of Alaska in which the professor is discussing how inappropriate it is to attach high-stakes consequences to a test as narrowly based as the SBA. The idea of accountability has morphed into an obsession with test scores.

We will descend into that nether region next week, and it seems that all who enter should abandon hope. We collectively find ourselves imprisoned in the school for the entire day by the test regimen. No one may leave. All communications devices are confiscated. Maybe we need to be patted down for mirrors, lest we use them to signal the answers across the river to Oscarville. Paranoia abounds. Speaking of Oscarville, it sounds as if under their regimen, even the teachers are banned from computer use during the long hours of tedium. This crap goes on all week. I will not even begin to discuss the level of official panic about this whole thing. It turns us all into gremlins. Just awful.

For the last straw, the state department of education has mandated the imposition of an SBA "survey" on parents and students. (No, they aren't asking us what we think.) The language of the thing is impenetrable education jargon, the tone is patronizing, and the phrasing of the questions is wildly skewed towards support and approval of The Sacred Test. This is what scared adults look like, Johnny...

I have actually been asked to share the thing by a couple of people who were impressed by its potential as a comedic device. Welcome to education, kids.

On a more positive note, classes have actually been fun, for the most part, and the week is flying by. I have signed my contract for next year and have turned it in to the boss. We have been assigned our roles for the big test week, and I have been assigned my role for culture week, which follows testing week. I will be a beading maven. I was thinking about carving, but the knives are expensive, and my DIY skills are not great. I am looking forward to the simple relaxation of just doing something (as well as the fact that the semester is nearly over). My kids and I seem to be getting along better. It is probably because I am more relaxed. Maybe the nightmare of first year teacher is nearing a quiet end.

On that note, I am wondering about the continuation of this blog. I notice that my postings have fallen off in the last month, and it may be that I am just running out of things to say. I also note a decided lack of comments, and wonder if anyone still reads this thing. If no one is listening, maybe it is time for the road to come to an end...

Finally, it is April 1st, the birthday of the bestest puppy dog in the world. He has been my faithful companion for nearly eight years. Even though he snores like a small engine, I still love him. Happy birthday, Boo...