[stan-der-dahyz]
verb (used with object), stand·ard·ized, stand·ard·iz·ing.
1.to bring to or make of an established standard size, weight, quality, strength, or the like: to
standardize manufactured parts.
verb (used without object), stand·ard·ized, stand·ard·iz·ing.
4. to become standardized.
The very meaning of the word
brings to mind a common thought or action for all things. When we were children our parents,
grandparents, teachers, religious leaders and heck even the older neighbors
would teach us to believe that we could be anything we wanted when we grew
up. From the time they heard the voice
of a songbird come out of the mouth of a 2nd grader or a 3rd
grader whose artistic abilities were just blossoming the individual teachers
have been allowed and even encouraged to develop and tutor those students with
special gifts. Those days it seems have
long disappeared with the notion that all students must take the standardized
test for their grade level. The teachers
themselves have long known that “standardized testing” was the beginning of the
end for allowing their students to grow into the special passions they had. The teachers do not have the time to nurture these
gifts as the classroom has become a political battleground involving the
Federal government and thusly the state and local governments as well. With the mandated testing comes mandated
teaching. Teachers are leaving the
profession in droves in protest to the practice which of course only affects
the students. Caught in a political
firestorm these kids have no idea that the schools are becoming a factory to
produce standard students. The arts
categories are going the way of the dinosaur to allow time for the teachers to
teach to the questions appearing on the standardized test. As with most issues of this kind the students
themselves are being forgotten. Most
times when you have an educational mandate the students are the ones
suffering. It matters not the level of
education whether it elementary through higher levels the students are on the
losing end. There are libraries closing
in schools around the country due to funding issues, there are schools without
a nurse on campus. The list goes on and
on but what matters most is the level and experience of education professionals
is dwindling right before our eyes.
Money that schools could fund their arts programs or staff the nurse’s
office or better yet allow money for the school library to remain open is being
used on testing. The notion that a “one
size fits all” test is ludicrous. Try to
tell me a child taking a test in Rhode Island is the same child that will take
a test in South Los Angeles. That
argument will never hold water. Kids are
different neighborhood to neighborhood much less 3000 miles apart. The financial disparity is only one of the
differences. There are cultural,
regional, and even local differences that make all children different in their
own right. The educational opportunities
on campus should and must be the same across the country. Instead of a standardized test how about
standardized campuses allowing for an even playing field for the students? Why is there no outcry over the lack of
evenness involving campuses or at least learning opportunities? Kids go to school to learn. It is shameful that the greatest country in
the world has substandard education.
Kids want to learn. They are like
sponges and will absorb everything you put in front of them, providing it is
the right thing. Whether it is the No Child Left Behind Act or anything else,
the Federal government should stay out of our local schools and let the
districts run their campuses how they see fit.
The parents in the district can dictate how they want their child
educated. They have the student’s best
interests at heart as well as knowing local and cultural differences. How about we just let kids be kids?
That’s all I have to say about
that.
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