Reflections of a Third Grade Rebel on Opting Out and Justice

FROM A THIRD GRADE REBEL (NOTE: this was the title of her story) My family and I decided that for the NYS ELA 3rd grade test I would opt out. Instead of sitting in the all-purpose room for 3 hours, I stayed home until the test was over. When I arrived at school, on the way down to my classroom I was passing the classroom that some of the special needs kids are in and I heard someone crying, and someone screaming!!!!! I was sad to hear that they were crying and screaming. I felt so bad for them! About an hour went by and it was time for lunch. On the way down to the cafeteria I was thinking, “Was all of that crying and screaming about the stress of the state test?!?!?!?!?!?” When I sat down at my usual table with all of my friends I told my friend the whole story about the screaming and crying and that I thought that it was about the state test. My friend said,”I asked my mom if children with special needs have to take the state test too. My mom explained that yes they do have to take the same test as us. Isn’t that so so sad!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?” I was shocked. This is my friend of course, that was opting out too, like me. When lunch was over we went to the classroom and did a little math. Then it was time to go home. We packed up our backpacks and my mom picked me up from school. I asked her if the special needs kids had to take the same test that all of my classmates did and she said, “Yes. And that is ONE of the MANY reasons why we opt out. Because although you are not a child with special needs, our family believes that this test is not fair and not appropriate for kids who get stressed out on tests or have special needs. School is a place where kids should feel safe. This test makes kids feel unsafe and scared in school.” So, in this case, that is one of the reasons why my family chooses to opt me out out of the New York State Test. After what I saw today in school I am so thankful that my family opted me out. No kid should ever be made to scream and cry in school. All parents should listen to this story and understand that even a third grader has figured out why kids shouldn’t take this test. The test is not ok for kids. My teacher never gives us any test or work that makes kids scream or cry. And the state shouldn’t either. Until the state fixes it, all families should do what mine did. OPT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bring the Music Back!

I have a dream..... that the testing budget in New York City and New York State was reduced by 80 percent and the available funds were used to purchase musical instruments for every high school and middle school so that any student who tried out for and made the band or orchestra could be given a musical instrument to take home and practice with.

Impossible you say? We actually had this in New York City public schools from the late 40's through the middle 70's until the great music programs in our schools were SHUT DOWN when a banker led Emergency Financial Control Board dictated huge budget cuts in the Department of Education

So many great musicians and songwriters were products of these programs; Eddie and Charlie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, Bobby Sanabria, Carol King, Jimmy Owens, Willie Colon to name only a few.

It's time to BRING THE MUSIC BACK!

‪#‎Fundartsnottests‬
‪#‎Bringthemusicback‬

A Teacher Weighs in on the 8th Grade ELA Test in New York State

This week I administered the 8th grade ELA assessment. The test, on the whole, was an abomination. It was so developmentally inappropriate that the state should be brought up on child abuse charges. As I looked out at my hard working students, my heart sank. It sank because I know that they are being set up to fail this exam, but they do not know that this is the motive of the state. They are in their seats, plugging along, trying their best and working as hard as they can. I'd like to share some examples of how developmentally inappropriate this test is. One reading passage in Book 2 was so difficult that between the first and second paragraphs the state itself had to footnote 6 words. The passage went on using so many other words, that were not footnoted, that simply are not in our common vernacular. For example, what are "fastnesses"? This is a word that was used to describe the setting of the story, which became very important to understand as it relates to the questions that were asked on the following pages of the book. Now, I asked 8 of my fellow colleagues to define this word. 1 of the 8 knew the answer. Unless you are a geology major, how is this word a part of our everyday language, let alone the reading capability of an average 8th grader? And our ESL students? ELL students? Special Education students (some of whom are reading on a third grade level)? My heart is bleeding for these kids. Then on day 3 of this marathon came the real whammy. Just trying to navigate the questions in Book 3 was nearly impossible for kids. One of my highest achieving students called me to her desk and pointed at the extended response question and said, "This question is just weird. It doesn't make sense. I don't know what they want us to write. What should I do?" Of course, I reassured her to trust her instincts and try her hardest. She was one of 7 kids in my particular proctoring location that called me to her desk about that very same question. No one understood what was being asked of them. At the end of day 3 one of my special education students lay her head on her desk and tears began to fall. She said, "I'm so tired, I can't do this anymore. I don't know what they are asking, and whatever they are asking I don't know how to answer it because I didn't understand the reading passage." I encouraged her to take a break, get some water and try again. She took my advice to heart and the poor kid sat looking at this one question for another HOUR. In total she had been taking the test for 3 hours and 20 minutes with no lunch. Finally, she called me over, and said, "I just can't do it. I have read the passage a million times and I don't know the answer. " It was at that point that she turned in her test without answering that last question. I told her how proud I was of her. I told her that trying her best is the most important thing that she can do for herself in this world. I am heartbroken for her and for all of the children who were subjected to this horrendous developmentally inappropriate exam.

Opt Out and the War in Vietnam

Here is what I learned from the War in Vietnam which has relevance to Opt Out: Money is important, power is important, technology is important, but when people are fighting to defend something near and dear to them- whether it is their country, their community, or their family- their capacity for sacrifice can overcome the most extraordinary financial and technological advances possessed by outsiders, The technocrats shaping US policy in Vietnam- many of them ivy league trained- could not imagine how the people of an Asian country which was largely pre-industrial could stand up to the the firepower that the most powerful nation in the history of the world could unleash against them, But they vastly underestimated the willingness of Vietnamese civilians as well as soldiers to sacrifice to defend their country against foreign invaders.

Similarly, those behind testing and Common Core in the US have virtually limitless resources to buy off governments and state education departments. They can use their wealth to control presidents, governors, mayors, and school commissioners. And they cannot imagine why mere parents think they have the wherewithal to resist their policies. But what they forget is that when parents feel their children's welfare is at stake, there is no sacrifice that is too great for them to make. The Opt Out movement is a reflection of that sacrifice, And in the face of parents determined to defend their children, neither bribery or intimidation will work. That is a lesson that elites are gradually learning, the hard way.

Just as they did in Vietnam

Notorious Phd's Opt Out Rap

They call me Notorious Phd
My passion is teaching history
I'm here to give a big shout out
To all the families who dare to opt out

Our schools are filled with toxic tests
Where contempt is shown for what teachers do best
Where arts and sports and recess are lost
Where billionaire bullies are now the boss

But parents and students have had enough
They're starting to call the Reformers bluff
You can’t sort students with a government rater
If Test Resistance deprives them of data

So just say no when they say Opt In
And throw their tests in the garbage bin
Show them your freedom's not for sale
And the Test Regime is bound to fail

What "Test Security" Hides: Message From a Teacher on Product placement in the 7th Grade ELA Test

FYI, yesterdays 7th Grade test had reading passages with the following product placement: Riddell, the helmet manufacturer, Skittles, Stonyfield yogurt, and Doritos. Today, the last two reading passages were about children who did not have mothers or fathers because of death or seperation. Very appropriate - NOT. Lastly the final essay asked to compare the last two stories, mentioning the story teller in the first story by name. Only problem is that since he was the narrator of the story, his name never appeared in the reading selection, only in the intro. Kids were confused

Opt Out as a Free Speech Movement

Opt Out As a Free Speech Movement

I produced the video below not only to proclaim that Opt Out is a Freedom Movement, but that it has become, due to attempted repression by school authorities, a Free Speech movement as well. Some elected officials have said that no public employees should have the right to speak out on the issues of the day, but if we apply that criteria to schools, we end up sharply narrowing our vision of what schools should do. Silencing principals, teachers and parents who wish to speak honestly about testing and curriculum sends a chilling message to students-namely, that a school is a place to learn obedience, not to appreciate differences of opinion and the battle of ideas. Those who want an Opt Out free school come perilously close to wanting a thought free school, or at lease a school free of independent thinking. This is yet another reason why the stakes in this conflict are very high. The kind of citizens we want in the future are being shaped by the kind of schools we have in the present.

https://vimeo.com/161340849/7c77f5734a