Those silly, stupid kids!
Dear [contributing writer] Roger Phillips,
Thank you for sharing your essay on local education [“Education is out,” March 13-19] with the readers of Las Vegas Weekly. As I was reading it, I could not help but laugh. I’ve heard students say the same kinds of strange things as I’ve worked as a middle-school substitute (math and English) here in CCSD. Out of 180 students I taught in a single day, only one knew the name of Nevada’s current governor. One seventh-grader said, “Arnold Schwarzenegger.” Incredible.
But you are correct. When I step into the classroom, 90 percent of the lesson plans I see are geared toward tests, not learning. So I set a simple goal for myself at each school I enter: to reach one student and inspire him/her to be a little better, try a little harder and move from ignorance to education and leadership. I concentrate on the hard cases in the “at-risk” schools (which as you know means “at risk of not meeting test standards”). As a temporary guest teacher, that’s about the most I can accomplish, I think.
–Thomas “Taj” Ainlay Jr.
Other life forms could teach us a thing or two about being people ... or taking tests ... or traveling ... or ...
I just read [your story] and wanted to thank you for the insight.
I grew up in St. George, Utah, and moved to Vegas in January of last year. I am 22 years old. I have a great concern for the youth of our country—or at least those in the surrounding areas—and I want to help bring about a brighter future for all of us. I am a musician ...
... I have a few high-school-going friends, and I can’t believe some of the things they are going through! Kids are running around with guns and weapons, and people expect them to learn at school on top of all that?! They are practically in a war zone at times. I was lucky enough to grow up in a very religious community where things like that didn’t happen. ...
Everything in this world is too damn convenient for kids to learn what this life is about. And adults are too busy working jobs to make money to support their kids to realize the importance of parenthood. Look at the other forms of life on this planet—the most precious thing in their lives are the lives of their young. They will fight till death to ensure the security of the next generation. Mothers spend most, if not all, of their time nurturing and caring for their creation of life. There is a vast gap between youth and adults that only seems to be growing. More than anything else kids need to know that life is far more than what your career is going to be or what college you’re going to. Life is now.
Life is every day. Life is what you choose to do with yourself every moment that you are alive. I do not believe that there is a way to teach this in a classroom; it has to be learned through experience. I believe that travelling could be the most effective way for the human mind to learn. Seeing how things work outside of your own element can teach you so much about life that could not be learned any way else. I don’t know what needs to happen to the educational institutions, but something needs to change. Kids learn from every moment of their lives, not just in school—that is where they go to be taught by qualified PEOPLE known as teachers about things they could not learn on their own.
... Good luck with educating the future people of the world.
–Mitch, aka William Takeover
My kids are over-tested, too
I loved your article in the Las Vegas Weekly. I am a first-year teacher here in Clark County, and I moved out here from Kalamazoo, Michigan. I teach 4th grade at Lomie Heard ES on Nellis Air Force Base. I am feeling the same way you are! Another thing that bothers me about the CRT [standardized tests] is that it is an end-of-the-year test that we had to give in mid-February! ...
So, I can’t think of a time that I have been able to teach my kids ANYTHING without being interrupted by one standardized test or another! I haven’t broken the news to them that I will have to give them the 2nd trimester Interim test a week after we get back from break ... It is ridiculous how much everyone expects out of the kids when there is no learning time with us BECAUSE of the testing. Another thing that I keep thinking about is that I feel like when they “rank” the “smartest” states, what exactly are they comparing? To me it is like comparing apples to oranges, because each state has a different set of standards, and until we get a set of standards as a nation for ALL states to use, I don’t feel like it is fair to compare state to state!
I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your article, and it is definitely something that everyone in our community needs to read. We as teachers should not be blamed for things that we can’t control ... mandatory tests.
–Chelsea Standish
My kid doesn’t need school, or, ‘There are no multiple-choice tests in battle.’
I’ve just finished reading your essay and must applaud your honesty and insight. My children live in Baton Rouge and suffer from the same “Test Prep Syndrome” you describe. When I talk to my nine-year-old about school he cannot tell me what he is reading, just that now he reads 91 words per minute instead of 70. When we read together during the summer he retains the information (I ask questions about the stories the following day), but apparently only scores 300 (should be 500-600) on some test that “measures” comprehension. The standard answer from both boys when asked what you are learning in school is “I don’t know.”
As a military instructor in a technical training school, I always placed more emphasis on job performance than the written tests. There are no multiple-choice tests in battle. North Carolina offers job training in public schools. My cousin specialized in welding and is now doing very well building yachts while never stepping inside of a college classroom.
–Don W. Gurganus Jr.
My kid is under too much pressure
I just read your wonderful letter “Why mandatory testing is ruining our schools” which was published in the Las Vegas Weekly.
I began teaching in the 1980s and then took time off to home-school my children. I have always loved teaching, so when we moved back to the States in 2005 I decided to teach in a classroom again. I was shocked by the deterioration in what’s passed off as education in our schools now.
We are now asking 2-to-3-year-olds to learn to read. Kindergartners are held back for not reading yet. First-graders are being asked to learn the multiplication tables. Elementary students no longer have recess. Many elementary children are now complaining of stomachaches and headaches.
By high school they may have learned to cope? High school students usually get at least 6 hours of sleep (10-14 is recommended).
What about testing?
There is a new term being used in the high schools, Christmas Treeing. It means filling in the little circles in a pretty way. When there is so much testing, no time to complete the test and the test takes so long that they can no longer think, it is the only way to cope. ...
True teaching is about opening a child’s eyes to all the wonders of the world. It is helping them learn and master the skills to share that knowledge with the world. ... Thank you for writing such a powerful letter expressing your views of education today.
Sincerely,
Evelyn Saenz
Henderson cops scare me
Dear Joshua Longobardy,
I read your story [“Excessive force? The Henderson Police Department faces public scrutiny,” April 3-9] in Las Vegas Weekly; very interesting, very well-written. Opened my eyes to several things I’ve been wondering about since moving to Henderson two years ago.
My family moved here from Tulare County, California, where when you get pulled over by the police it is almost always one officer in one cruiser, once in a while two officers in one car ... The police pulled me over in Henderson with no less than three SUVs and six officers to ask for license, registration and insurance. My first thought was we must match the description of some very bad people, but as it turns out I see this all the time in Henderson ... so I’m very skeptical of Henderson’s chief saying that there were only three officers around the ice cream truck lady and her family ...
By the way, we were legal when we were pulled over; I now shudder to think what would have happened otherwise. And, oh yeah, it was also the only time I’ve ever had an officer ask what I do for a living. I’m still trying to figure out why.
Great story—keep up the good work; these are the things that matter, not Britney, Paris or Lindsay.
–Sean L. Patterson
Excessive familiarity
Dear Joshua Longobardy,
Everyone I know has a story about the Henderson cops. I think it’s sad this story “Excessive force?” surprises nobody ... but keep it up.
–Bobby L.
Henderson resident since 1993
Thanks for the stellar arts coverage
Dear Editor,
As always, [art critic Susanne] Forestieri, herself a serious artist, has written an excellent and provocative review [“From the benign to the sinister,” April 3-9], which makes me want to see the show. I love her work. Keep it coming.
–Linda Ploumis