Letters to the Editor ...

WASL won't work

Editor:

I just finished giving my first WASL to my sixth-grade students. I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. Between the protocol for proctors and the stress on our students, I now feel like we need to stand up as teachers and say, "No, this test is costing our students too much." It's not that I don’t want to test kids. But, I want what is best for kids. This test is just not what is best for kids. And this test comes at too high of a cost.

Give me smaller class sizes, new textbooks or resources, and sufficient supplies to teach my students. Then, I won't have to give away my own children's college educations to support my classroom with basic supplies. I will show you how competency works.

Give me the arts, daily physical education, field trips, and outdoor education experiences to motivate my students again. Then, my students will want to be lifelong learners. I will show you how lower dropout rates work.

Give me students who are well fed, warmly clothed, and really loved because their parents don’t have to work several jobs for their family to survive. I will show you how a happy family and self-confidence in children works.

Give me a building without duct-taped carpet, mildew, mold and buckets to catch the rain inside of the building. I will show you how school pride works.

Give me parent understanding, kids who care, and principals who support me when I need help. I will show you how trust works.

Give me an educational assistant, current technology with training, and a classroom for behaviorally disordered students. I will show you how learning works.

Give me a decent salary so I don't have to work extra jobs to get by, a retirement system that allows teachers to retire at a reasonable age and survive, and an insurance system that doesn't chip away at my already meager salary. I will show you just what really works when I don't have to worry all of the time.

We could test our students using a nationally recognized test in a single day that is machine scored and save millions of dollars. Those dollars could then be spent on what works in Washington's schools. We could be the state that really changes public education by focusing on what really matters.

Think about it. I did, and wrote letters to my legislators this week. Testing is not the answer to our problems. Something is really wrong when a country believes testing will meet all of our students' needs. How many more of our children must be left behind?

Shaerie Bruton
Monroe EA

Another view

Editor:

Regarding Mr. Fletcher's assertions about "lecture" and "the research" (WE, April 2006)...I embrace the definition of a weakness as a strength overused. If a teacher makes instructional decisions too frequently in favor of their preferred learning style or strongest modality, in this case auditory input, then potentially many students are left behind in a sea of interesting stories without a grasp of the big picture and how all of these stories relate to the concepts being taught.

If methods are "out of favor" but effective, as demonstrated by student achievement, then by all means don't fix what's not broken. If, however, a significant number of students consistently fail when "out of favor" methodologies predominate in the classroom, then perhaps it is time to look for additional strategies to enhance the learning experience for all students. Simply chalking up continued failure to student undermotivation or lack of ability is missing an opportunity to reflect on what really works and what would work better. Essential to any discussion of freedom, academic or otherwise, is the requisite notion of responsibility.

Barbara Hauschel
Everett EA

Brad Skiff (Riverview EA) cartoon -- click on the image to view larger.

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We encourage members of Washington’s public school community to share their views. Signed letters from WEA members and staff will be printed on a space-available basis. Letters should deal with an issue of interest to WEA members; personal attacks will not be published.

To submit your letter, please send e-mail to lwoo@washingtonea.org and include "Letter to the editor" in the subject line, or send U.S. mail to Letters, WE-Washington Education, P.O. Box 9100, Federal Way, WA 98063-9100. Please include your name and your local education association's name, plus a daytime phone number for verification.

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