RSS Feed
Time to Ditch the Helicopters
GUEST BLOG BY SARAH WARRY-POLJANSKI, SQE DIRECTOR
It's almost time for students here in Ontario to write their EQAO tests, and the on-going debate over standardized testing is heating up.
In recent years people have made testing sound like the boogeyman who is coming to take away children's happiness, a teacher's dignity, or the system's pride. People are afraid that if their child doesn't do well on standardized testing that it will hinder their learning abilities and ruin their future. Teachers may be afraid that if students aren't successful, it means it's their fault and they were not effective at teaching. The education system may fear that results will negatively impact how the public perceives them and their methods of educating our children.
Everyone needs to relax. No one is testing your child with nefarious intentions of ruining their future , and no one is going to start burning teachers at the stake. The system, well, it should be afraid. It holds a large responsibility, and if it’s not being met, it should be held accountable.
I don't mind having my children tested in school. Why? I personally want to know if my children doing well. That's why they are there isn't it, to learn? A Peterborough parent long ago asked: What is Johnny supposed to know? By when is he supposed to know it, and how do I know that he knows it? Without testing, how do we know whether kids are achieving, whether they need help, or whether they may have a learning disability that requires further investigation? The negativity surrounding tests is becoming a fad, and perhaps a dangerous one.
For the EQAO, I'm not that bothered. I've read the Fraser Institute's reports and I've seen what they do with it. The picture certainly isn't as clear, straight forward, and pretty as we would like, but we do have a less than impressive curriculum, so test scores will naturally mirror that . If anything, we need to stop our anxious thoughts and worries about tests. Tests are needed to measure achievement. Of course we can say " Kids can be examined during the school year based on how well they do on tasks and assignments, testing is not necessary". Sure, we can say that, but sometimes students also need to be put in a situation like testing to make sure that even under pressure they are able to perform at a certain level .
Let's look at a few things and see how your bias changes. Would you feel safe if we handed out drivers' licenses to people without testing them? Would you have open-heart surgery by a doctor who didn't attend medical school or failed his medical exam? Or would you let a tradesperson without a gas ticket or who failed his C of Q do work in your home? I'm going to assume you said no to at least half of these things.
People are put under stress when they drive, when they operate, even when they are doing jobs that might not seem stressful to others. Being able to perform under stress is a remarkable skill to have, and it is one we should encourage our children to develop. Our students will one day become our doctors and tradespeople, they will become the people who work and run our economy. They will have to pass tests in order to get to where they want to be and do the things they want to do . If we start discouraging testing because of our own fears and bad experiences, we are going to take away opportunities from them, and that is not fair. We cannot push our own insecurities onto our children because, at the end of the day when they become adults, they will live with those burdens, not us.
We have become a generation of helicopter parents who shelter our children to the point that we are taking away their ability to learn through natural curiosity, their ability to make judgment calls on their own, and their ability to learn self control and responsibility. Children, like any other conscious species on this planet, are designed to learn through experience. If we don't let them experience testing and being put under pressure, it will only hinder them later and cause much more anxiety and unneeded stress as adults.
If you have questions about your child's testing being done, please ask your child's teacher or school. Don't just jump on the bandwagon without informing yourself. We live in a rapidly-changing world, but there are a few things that will always be certain, and pressure and anxiety are one of them. We are humans, we have emotions and thoughts. Talking to your children about their thoughts and feelings is one way to make testing less stressful for both them and you.
It is up to us as parents to give our children as many opportunities as possible and to make sure we are preparing them for the future the best we can. Encourage success in your children, and teach them to accept failure and learn from it how to do better.
Share this article