For Parents & Teachers (and anyone else who cares to take a look!)

[teacher gal]

It will do your heart good to watch this:

http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/wp-content/themes/179/aschool012008.html

And help us work to end high-stakes testing and one-size-fits-all education in our public schools by signing the petition at www.educatorroundtable.org (I know...lots of you have already done so...thank you!)

[teacher gal]

1. Oh, and recs and comments

would be appreciated so more can enjoy this. I think it is lovely. What do you think?

[KSinTX]

2. Are you by chance a teacher? Or a homeschooling parent?

This speaks volumes in a wonderfully graphic presentation about much of what is happening in our schools today. Without recognizing the many forms of knowledge-building and persistence in using a very outdated pedagogical approach to teaching, we have managed to dumb down expactations of our kids and limited knowledge to regurgitation of facts. Great presentation! I will go check out your petition. :hi: Howdy!

[teacher gal]

3. yes

I'm a special education teacher. And thank you for your right-on-target comments and for visiting our petition!

[teacher gal]

4. A kick

before I go run an errand.

[devilgrrl]

5. K&R

Thank you for posting that. I just forwarded it to my parents who could never figure out why I didn't do well in school.

[teacher gal]

9. Glad you enjoyed it!

Looking back at those years, would you like to share what would have made school a better, more meaningful experience for you?

Since I'm a teacher, I like hearing things from the perspective of students.

[AnneD]

6. I enjoyed it...

and sent it to my teaching friends.

[teacher gal]

7. Thanks to all

who are supporting this thread.

[ChazII]

8. Thank you.

This is a wonderful video.

[hellbound-liberal]

10. Thanks, teachergal. I'm a teacher of children with special needs too and I see this often

Unfortunately, as you know,we are doing a poor job of providing the "free, appropriate public education" that is called for by IDEA. In fact, I am sure that I am not the only person that sees NCLB and IDEA as being mutually exclusive. You simply can not give students "individualized" instruction based on their needs and abilities and then expect them to pass the same standardized test that other students are able to pass. There is a reason that students have been identified as having special needs and no amount of testing is going to change that. Keep up the good fight. You have a lot of company!

[trayfoot]

11. Thanks!

As an educator of over three decades, I totally agree with you - though I teach upper grades and college. This is a great site!

[bobbolink]

12. K&R'd... this is one thing that Teddy did that he needs to rectify!

This is one horrible abomination!

Shame on Teddy for the mess he made with this!

Thanks for posting this!!

:applause:

[LWolf]

13. K & R nt

[proud patriot]

14. Parent and SEA paraprofessional here

I just sent this out to many people

[teacher gal]

15. To all

Thanks again for the recs and sweet comments.

And yes, NCLB and IDEA are contradictory!

[teacher gal]

16. Gonna give this another bump

since it has gotten several recs.

[OneBlueSky]

17. "When will we teach our children in school what they are? . . .

We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the world there is no other child exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed there has never been another child like you. And look at your body -- what a wonder it is! Your legs, your arms, your cunning fingers, the way you move! You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you harm another who is, like you, a marvel?"
Pablo Casals, Joys and Sorrows, (New York, 1970)

[laylah]

18. Thank you so much

for this. How wonderful!