FCAT, again!

The news in the paper and on my computer was that the FCAT scores were down. My little school, Lacoochee, was significantly down, worse, in some ways than the others.

I read the sample reading question and I wonder how we can judge kids (and whole schools) on such questions as these. Remember that the kids I see each week have no idea what a green bean is, nor a pea, nor a bat. They have no experiences in either English or Spanish. How can we expect that they will do well on a reading comprehension test that assumes they are all familiar with the usual Anglo body of information?

Last night we had our two year old grandson visiting us. After his bath and supper we went upstairs, brushed teeth, and settled down on the bed to read a story. I chose one from our shelf of kids' books, "Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo". This was way far from his experience. But he loved the cadence of the repetition, and he loved the pictures of China. So. He'll grow up with this little piece of knowledge about China, myths, and how they name children.

Kids in poverty do not have regular routines of sweet smelling baths and supper and bookshelves full of bedtime stories, and kisses from grandpa. But then, they are expected to perform on FCAT tests! What are we thinking?

There are some children who despite all odds are flourishing. Marisol comes to mind. (She is clearly the most able child in the class, though one of the youngest). I think that Marisol's parents, whom I have never met, and who have many children, try really hard. I think they must know that their children are bright and somehow they must give them sustenance for the mind. We must try and find out what such parents as Marisol's do to foster achieving and creative children. There is a language barrier here, but we must figure out why they are so successful.

This week at Lacoochee, the teachers were having a workshop on writing. The kids from Kindergarten on up had to write a sample for, what else, the FCAT. I looked at some of the writing, from my group, from a "prompt" about 'what made my teacher proud.' What the kids wrote was absolute crap. Of course the spelling, grammar, and exposition was seat of the pants basic. I wonder what they would have written from a more emotionally true prompt from a single word such as "violence" or "kisses" or "roaches"? And they could write from their hearts and experiences, not from a formula? I wonder if these teachers and administrators and legislators have ever had the chance to write from their interests and hearts. I wonder if they have ever heard of Sylvia Ashton Warner?

I wish these good and patient children and their teachers could have a leader with energy, creativity and vision who could show them that achievement of students is not measured in FCAT scores, but in the content of their characters, their creativity, and their interest in everything about this planet.