CRCT testing

I hate state standardized testing for our kids! I hated it when I was younger and I hate it now as a parent of kids going through it. This year, I have 3 kids taking it in grades 2, 3 & 5. From what I'm reading, only 3, 5 & 8 must pass. It looks like, from the researching I've done today, that 3rd graders must pass the reading section, 5th must pass the reading and math and 8th must pass all. Fortunately, my 3rd graders will be fine and my other 2 don't really have to pass it at all, but that doesn't take the stress off. The teachers push these kids so hard, creating so much stress on them, because when it comes down to it, it looks good or bad for them based on how their class scores.

There HAS to be a better way than this. How about the obscene amounts of homework they get, the testing they take all year long, the projects and assignment? In the big scheme of things, these grades and assignments are a waste of time. The long nights of studying so my child can pass a test with a good grade, doesn't hold weight if he fails the CRCT. The CRCT website states "The CRCT is designed to measure how well students acquire the skills and knowledge described in the Quality Core Curriculum (QCC)". Truth is, and they can't state this, is not anything to do with our children and how they learn, but how teachers are teaching. If my child is one of the ones who learns more hands on, then something like Social Studies, where it's all book knowledge, he will continue to struggle with. If the testing was truly about HIM, they would see the results, and figure out a way to help him. In this type of testing, there will ALWAYS be kids who are falling behind. Not all kids learn the same, not all test the same. Testing anxiety is a major issue with this type of testing. Kids have such pressure put on them, that they totally freak out when they go in to the test. I know, because I deal with this myself in my classes at school.

I agree that there needs to be testing done, how about we just get back to the days where kids pass or fail based on their performance in their classes. If they meet the requirements with a C in the classes, they pass, if not, they don't. Why is it so complicated and stressful these days to be a kid?

For my 6th grader, I have been on the phone several times a month with her and discussing my sons performance. I try to be an involved parent, but she was giving homework that not only was my son struggling with, but my husband and I were too. My son said that there were several of his friends whose parents were doing the homework FOR them! The teacher and I discussed this and I reminded her that WE, as parents, are NOT the ones in school. Her response was that they are preparing for the CRCT and that this is the mandatory work required.

According to a recent study, "Evidence is mounting that for a growing number of schools, teaching is being redefined as test preparation. Seventy-nine percent of teachers surveyed by Education Week said they spent "a great deal" or "somewhat" of their time instructing students in test-taking skills, and 53 percent said they used state practice tests a great deal or somewhat." This was taken from a great article on why Standardized Testing is FAILING our children! The 7 reasons listed were:
1. At-Risk Students Placed at Greater Risk...this has to do with not having as many resources in their homes. MUCH of my children's preperation for their testing was done online. There was a point where we disconnected our cable and internet for a bit, and the kids really struggled because all their work was done on the internet. How do inner city kids prepare for this? Answer is, the don't. And they continue to struggle and eventually fail.

2. Lower Graduation Rates. "Grade-by-grade testing and graduation tests actually increase school dropouts. A Harvard University study found that students in the bottom 10 percent of achievement were 33 percent more likely to drop out of school in states with graduation tests. "

3. Higher Test Scores Do Not Mean More Learning. THis has to do with the above information about teachers gearing to the testing and not actually teaching. The article states "n one school, for example, students were taught to cheer "Three in a row? No, No, No!" The cheer was a reminder that if students answered "c" three times in a row, probably at least one of those answers is wrong since the test maker is unlikely to construct three questions in a row with the same answer letter.

Although this kind of test preparation may boost scores, it does not necessarily produce real gains in understanding that show up on other tests or performance measures or that students can apply in a nontesting situation".

4. Standardized Testing Shrinks the Curriculum. "Educator Alfie Kohn advises parents to ask an unusual question when a school's test scores increase: "What did you have to sacrifice about my child's education to raise those scores?"

5. When Tests Fail. "Tests themselves are often flawed, and high-stakes errors be-come high-stakes disasters."

6. Teacher Stress. "While teachers support high standards, they object to learning being measured by a single test. Not surprisingly, in a national study, nearly seven in ten teachers reported feeling test-stress, and two out of three believed that preparing for the test took time from teaching important but non-tested topics"

7. What's Worth Knowing? "The fact that history, drama, the arts and a host of subjects are given less attention in the current testing movement raises intriguing curricular questions: What is really important to teach'? What is worth knowing?" Remember that those who don't know history or doomed to repeat it.

It's time we get back to teaching the core subjects and raising our standards IN the classroom. I wish this was an easy fix, but unfortunately it's not. No Child Left Behind was a great concept, but many have been left behind. Standardized Testing was a great idea, but it's not working! It's time to look for a new way and a brighter future for our kids.

Information taken from http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Test_Problems_Seven/?page=2

Sunday Simplicity-My Top 10 for Apirl 18

Top 10 about my medical beliefs....this one is not really 'simple' and is actually quite controversial, but it sounded like a good topic for this morning. But read on anyways. :)

10. For those who don't know I'm a chiropractic student right now.

9. I believe that most women could have a homebirth or at least an unmedicated birth if they wanted to. (Maybe I'll write more about why I believe this way in a future blog).

8. I believe that immunizations are over rated.

7. I believe that the body has an ability to heal itself most of the time.

6. I believe that "The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest her or his patients in the care of the human frame, in a proper diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease" as Thomas Edison stated in 1902.

5. I believe that chiropractic is a great means of unleashing the brain body connection, allowing the energy to properly flow from the brain, down through the spinal cord and out into every nerve of the body.

4. I believe that what we eat and drink plays more of a role in our health than what we have given it credit for in the past.

3. I believe that by educating the public, not on the medicines and the side affects listed on tv, but how about how their body works, will bring about a revolution in the health care industry.

2. I believe the current system is fraudulant and misleading. "Healthcare" as we know it now, is really "Sick Care". Health care is still a work in progress.

1. I believe that the with the new "Obamacare" being implemented, we are all going to lose in the long run. If you think the govrnment is able to properly manage health care, talk to our US service men and women or our veterans! Their healthcare benefits are pretty embarrassing. If our government can't even properly care for those who protect our nation and keep us safe, why do we think they will suddent be so much better managing OUR bodies and health?

My "Sexy" Bald Man

So, bald can be beautiful, especially in the case of Shemar Moore or Montel Williams. These two men are SEXY bald men!! Bald is beautiful on the women who are in the fight of their lives against breast cancer. But I'm now finding out if bald is beautiful when it comes to my husband!! Last week he was whining and complaining about needing a haircut. The lady who cuts his normally was in Iran for a month visiting family, and he didn't want to go anywhere else and risk them messing up. I jokingly said that if he couldn't take it anymore, to shave it and this would be his only chance. His best friend shaves his head and I HATE it on him. He tries to go for that scary, bouncer at the bar, sort of look.

This morning Tim says that he's going to cut his hair. I didn't think anything of it and assumed he was going to go get it cut since the lady is back in town now. I run to the grocery store really quick and come home to find him with trimmers in hand. By that point, it was too late. The damage was done. He had giant streaks of missing hair all over his head, so I stepped in to help him.

I'll say that the end product isn't too bad, but when I went to kiss him before he left for a rugby match, and I touched his head like I always do when I kiss him, I felt myself cringe! It's going to take some getting used to...

Here's a BEFORE, taking at our son's preschool graduation.

During the process
The finished look. What do YOU think? Do you have a sexy bald man in your life? Show him off in your blog so we can see.

Been MIA

...but I'm back now. Last week, my husband made the decision to 'save some money' and cut off Comcast. What a mess! He didn't really think it through when he made the call and so not only did he cut the cable, but also the land line phone and the internet. We have 2 of us in grad school and a middle schooler son, who all NEED internet as part of our studying and homework. I was having to make runs to Caribou Coffee every night just to send emails or check all the kids Teacher Blogs for school. So, after a week of fussing, complaining and whining (HIM, not me), he finally called AT&T and got DSL hooked up. That, in and of itself, was a nightmare. The modem came yesterday and he said he had to get it hooked up within a few hours. Problem was, it wasn't setting up nearly as easy as it was supposed to. He called tech support today but they really gave him the run around. They wanted to charge him $40 just to answer all his questions! They wouldn't answer any of his questions with a straight answer. Long story short, he ended up calling the company that our router is through and they finally got us up and running. It was my husbands mistake (putting in the wrong email address for his username, of all things!) So, an extra $30 later (yes, he finally ended up paying the router place to help him) and him feeling like an idiot, and me not letting him down easily, he has gone to see a movie and I'm online....FINALLY!

Lots of catching up to do over the next fews day....kids birthday parties, loser friends, people who take advantage of ya or only look out for themselves, feelings of despair I'm having. You'll get to read it all! Should be a fun weekend. LOL Enjoy your weekend...and my ramblings.

Not Me Monday 4~12~10

Here ya go! This week, I did not tell Jacob "It's ok sweetie. You have a diaper on. Just pee in that" when he told me he had to go to the bathroom.

I did not sit and insist I wasn't mad at him when he had an accident in his big boy pants saying over and over "I'm NOT mad at you", even though he kept saying "I'm in so much trouble". Only to start changing him and realize he had pooped! I didn't say "Ok, Mommy lied. NOW I'm mad!" < hanging head in shame on that one >

I did not insist on going to a birthday party in Kentucky, only to get there and have a pretty big hissy fit about being there!

When I broke a tooth this week and I did NOT cry like a baby, because it was in the front and something everyone will see. (And something I can't get taken care of for a couple of weeks!!!)

I did not tell my kids "uh huh" or "it's ok" while driving the 7 hours in said car, to EVERY question they asked, because I couldn't hear them and it would be easier than having them repeat it louder.

I did not get very irrirated at a "friend" this week for lying to us. Ok, so I DID get very angry at said 'friend' and am about to release that anger and let him know. Stay tuned next week to see if I did or didn't do it. ;)

Wordless Wednesday 4~7~10

Georgia Pollen Hits Hard

Tuesday Tantrums

I HATE that my kids are on spring break this week and that I have class. It makes it so hard to try to balance going to classes when I don't have childcare. Today I have my 3 year old with me for class, but I'm not sure it's going to go too well so I may end up leaving pretty early. He sat ok through my first class, but it was only an hour.

I hate that I'm still stuck here in Georgia, with no family, no real friends and no support system. I really miss home. :(

I hate that I'm living 100% on student loans and that there is no money for ANYTHING extra. In fact, as of Friday we are cutting off the cable at home. I HATE that! It'll save us $150 a month (or $450 a quarter) so it's a good thing financially, but it sucks!

I hate that people are inconsiderate. We have a friend who lives with us. He went away last week for Spring Break, with his girlfriend of about 3 weeks. I had asked when they would be back and told him they were welcome to spend Easter with us. I never heard anything from him, so on Easter, went about my day. We sat down and ate and about 15 minutes after we were done, he called my husband to say they were on their way! T said we had just eaten but they were more than welcome to come and finish up. They did. They came, they ate, they left! Ate my food, but then didn't even have the decency to spend the rest of the day with us. Just ate and left!! I hate that type of rudeness!

I hate that my battery is dying and I forgot my charger at home! So with that, I'm going to have to end this venting session. I feel 10 pounds lighter after posting all my complaints. Off to grab some lunch and then to my next class. :)

~K~

Not Me Monday

This week, while potty training, I did not tell my son to 'get his finger out of his butt'. I didn't encourage him to run around naked for a few hours and I most definitely did NOT laugh hysterically, when he informed me that 'his balls' were wet. (Grandma apparently taught him that he has 'balls').

I did not tell my husband, upon returning from the doctor with his a note that he needs blood work because his blood pressure was a bit high, that he did NOT need to go have blood work done and that he would NOT need the medicine they prescribed him. (He probably thinks I'm trying to kill him off or something). It might be because I also didn't tell him early in the week that I could always trade him in for a younger model. "I" would NEVER say that!!!

I didn't "encourage" my husband to go and by the new Love & War book by John and Staci Eldridge because we had argued and I felt he needed to read a book on marraige. ;)

I didn't make my kids pose at the Easter egg hunt on Saturday because I missed them finding eggs the first time. And I did NOT purposely post a facebook message about what I was having for dinner, knowing that a friend who was supposed to be here to eat with us, 'forgot'. I did NOT post in detail everything that we were having, and post it as I was sitting down to eat, knowing that within 20 minutes he'd call to say he was on his way. AND I most definitely did NOT laugh hysterically when he called Tim to tell him that he and his girlfriend were on their way, and Tim informed them we were done but we would leave the food out if they wanted to still come and eat what was left. I would NEVER do that....

"Christian Holidays"

(This isn't the most well written blog as I found myself rambling and going off on rabbit trails, no pun intended) on more than one occasion. I left it in it's simplest, unedited, form so hopefully you won't get lost in my ramblings. And it could be controversial to some, so don't read if you are easily offended or don't like to have your belief system challenged). You've been warned...now read away. :)

I've always struggled with the "Christian Holidays". I mean, Christmas and Easter mostly. What makes these days 'Christian' days? Is it because we 'celebrate' Jesus on them? I have a very dear friend who doesn't do easter baskets or eggs or anything. She says it's 'foolishness' and 'just plain silly'. To me, it's something kids enjoy. It's ok to be silly sometimes. I have another friend who several years back, decided they were no longer going to do Santa Claus in their house. Their kids were 7, 6, and 4 at the time (I believe). They sat them all down, told them 'the truth' and that was the end. They removed their Christmas tree and instead, put up a giant wooden cross. No one had the heart to tell them... HOLIDAY! They would have been better to put a manger in the corner. Anyways, for me, this never has made sense. ALL these holidays are man made holidays. Jesus never told us to celebrate His birth or to celebrate His death & resurrection. In fact, it's something we should remember every day, in my opinion, not just one day a year.

There has been much controversy over the years of when Easter & Christmas should be celebrated. Some, in the 3rd & 4th century felt it should follow the Jewish calendar. Others felt it should be totally separate, apart from the Jewish holiday (Passover). Regardless, I always find it sad that we in the "Western World" always tend to think that WE are the Christians and WE know how it's done. We think that our style of worship is the 'proper' way, despite their being Christians worldwide who would never step foot in one of our churches and worship the way we do. Back to Easter & Christmas. In Jerusalem, the crucifixion is actually reacted every year. Here in the US, that is too 'real' for most of us and we would never tolerate it. So many of us won't even watch The Passion because of the realness. We like to think of Jesus' resurrection, but we don't want to see the reality of what He went through 3 days earlier.

So, what is the point in all of this. Easter is a day. It's a day we 'celebrate' Jesus' resurrection, but it's a day, in my opinion. It's a day to celebrate family, community, and yes, Jesus gift to us. But why is it that in celebrating that, we can't also have FUN? Why do we have to make it a somber remembrance day. I was raised in a Baptist church and I remember going on Easter and seeing people who hadn't stepped foot in the church since the Easter before, Easter lillies everywhere and people decked out in the best of their best clothes. (Does Jesus notice when we dress up like that?) Then it was time to sing. Everyone stood up and sang in unison...."I serve a risen savior. He's in the world today. I know that he is with me, no matter what they say....He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today..." yet it felt like we were at a funeral! No one seemed excited that Jesus was ALIVE! It felt like everyone was going through the motions that were expected of them on this Holy Day. We now are more Charismatic (ordained pastors in our previous church as a matter of fact) and it's much more alive, but it still often feels like motions.

Ever look at what celebrations often surround Easter? We have a Jewish Holiday of Passover, we have a Pagan holiday. Think that maybe, just maybe, we as Christians felt WE needed a holiday during that time too? NO WHERE in the Bible do we find a celebration of Easter. We do, however, find many references to Passover. In fact, "EASTER" named after the Teutonic Goddess Eostre, the Goddess of Spring who gives fertility to the earth. (Note that Easter coincides with Spring in the Northern Hemisphere). Hot cross buns, that are so popular at Easter time....pagan (the saxons ate them).



The bottom line is that Easter (and Christmas) are both days that we as Christians have taken from other religions, other nations and other people & times. We have created a day for ourselves to celebrate our beliefs. And that's fine. But don't try to claim that these days are strictly to celebrate Jesus. The roots, as far back as we can trace them, are not inherently Christian. And a little Easter bunny on Easter Sunday isn't going to make your kids not believe in Jesus! Did it for you???

Sunday Simplicity-My Top 10

This weeks Top 10:

Things that Annoyed Me this week:
10. That it was my spring break and I got NOTHING accomplished that I needed to.

9. As I sit and see myself in the sliding glass door reflection, the roll above the top of my pants seems to be getting BIGGER!

8. Poopy underwear during potty training.

7. Groping husband.

6. Whiny, arguing kids.

5. People who don't care about other people. For instance, I invited someone for dinner today and STILL don't know if they are coming, but am guessing they will just 'show up' so have to be prepared for THEIR lack of preparing.

4. Carrying the weight and responsibility of everyone else, because if I don't do it, it'll never get done.

3. Having to wake up early during my break because the kids still had school.

2. Bloggers-OMG I've been looking at blogs today and see these women with amazing blogs, all on these "Top Mommy Blogs" type sites and yet they have NOTHING to say! I want mine to be different than that so really have to get to thinking....

1. That the holidays just don't seem to hold the same 'magic' that they did when I was little. :(