Dear Standardized Test,
Welcome to room 614. It is almost that time of year when you invade our classrooms across the state and take residence for two weeks or longer. So, when I say welcome, I am really lying to you. There is nothing welcoming in my greeting.
I look at my students today and see those students who are no longer on medication due to a shortage and wonder if they are going to be able to sit through your grueling hours-long daily visit. I look at those students who came to me reading below grade level but are now showing so much growth and wonder if your reading passages are going to be a slap in their face and make them feel defeated before they even get started. I wonder if all my students will have parents who take away their phones so they will get a good night's sleep. I wonder if they will have a good breakfast waiting on their tables when they wake up. I even wonder if they will wake up and be at school on time.
I wonder...
I wonder...
and the list goes on.
I look at my colleagues who begin to question themselves. Questions like have I done enough?
I refuse to be one of those teachers. A teacher who feels her worth is based on your visit into our classroom these two weeks out of a school year. A teacher who looks at her students as a test score.
You cannot defeat me. You cannot question my ability as a teacher and my students as learners. You will walk into my classroom on April 15th. We will be cordial because that is what we are required to do. But we will open the door widely when our time together is over.
There is so much more I could say but the bell is about to ring, and my students are about to enter my classroom. We have more learning to do today.
We are approaching the end of year when we should be celebrating our time together as learners. And that is exactly what we will do.
Leigh Anne Eck
6th Grade English language arts teacher
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share a slice of life during the month of March.