teach. pray. - Humans First. Students Second.

It is no secret that I despise state standardized testing. I'm all for accountability, but I also believe there has to be a better way. Then, again, maybe I should just change my attitude. I don't know. Either way, let me tell you a story.

I teach two 90 minute blocks of fifth grade ELA (English Language Arts - in case you're wondering). Both of my classes are full of amazing kids. In my second block, there's a boy named Charles (that's an alias to protect the identity of the student). Charles started the year with less than great work ethic and effort. However, over the course of the past couple of months, I've noticed a drastic change. He's eager to learn, works harder than most of my students, and takes pride in his work. 

Charles performs well below grade level. In August when I assessed him, he was reading on a mid-first grade reading level. A week ago, I reassessed him. He is currently reading at a mid-third grade level. You do the math there. Incredible growth. 

Now, let me give you some background information on Charles. English is his second language. He enrolled in our school in the second grade speaking zero English. His family left the crime and poverty of Honduras. When they entered the United States, they were detained by ICE and held for several weeks (at least that's my understanding). Charles was separated from his family during this time. In his words, "Oh, if you were born in America, you are so lucky. In Honduras, it was really bad. When I was at that place when we got here, I was really scared. They took me from my family for a long time and were so mean to me. I was so hungry. I hardly ate and the food was gross." Before making Williamston, SC their home, Charles had little (if any) educational experience.

Charles is vibrant. He has challenges with attention, but overall, he has chosen to attack the challenges thrown at him and reap the benefits of hard work. When I was working with him in a small group last week, he was practicing a reading comprehension strategy where he reads a chunk and then stops to think in order to check his own understanding. At first, I was concerned because every time I glanced his direction it appeared as though he were distracted. After several minutes of not seeing his eyes in his book and watching them wander the classroom, I decided to check in with him.

"Charles, how's your reading going?"

"Oh, I'm just thinking about this story."

"Ok, why don't you share with me what you're thinking."

"Well, this boy and his problem reminds me of that,"  as he pointed to our class quote of the week. 

The quote of the week was: Running away from a problem only increases the distance from the solution. The easiest way to escape from the problem is to solve it.

I responded, "Well, tell me what you mean." I was a little confused and wasn't making the connection myself.

"This boy in the story is being bullied and keeps pretending everything is fine. So, the bully keeps bullying him. He should've told someone about it instead of pretending he was fine because that's like running away from the problem so the bullying got worse. He needed to tell someone about the bullying so he could solve his problem. It's like the quote."

Right then and there, I got teary and smiled. Here's a kid who came to me in August reading on a mid-first grade level. And, here we are in January, halfway through the year, and he's connecting his third grade reading to our weekly class quote. For many, this may not sound like much of a victory. But, for this teacher, it was MAJOR! 

"Charles, I'm really impressed. No other student has made that connection. I can tell you were really thinking and understanding what you read. I am so proud of you and your hard work. You are doing great!"

He smiled with pride. No one can take that victory from him or me - though, the state department will try when his test scores come back this summer. 

In the eyes of the state department and those who look at test scores to define student achievement and growth, he will be considered "does not meet," therefore, labeled a student that SC educators have failed. But, the truth is he will be leaving my classroom a better human and student than he was when he entered. And, in my eyes, neither of us (Charles or myself) have failed each other. 

What that standardized test won't see is how Charles can read a story and connect it to real life and humanize those fictitious characters, therefore, building his own character as a human being. That standardized test won't see all the challenging hurdles he's successfully jumped along the way. What the standardized test won't see are the hours we've spent connecting and growing together. It won't see how I helped him and how helped me become a better human in a crazy world. 

What use is knowledge if the person with the knowledge can't apply it to life? 

At some point, we have to understand that true education is about a whole lot more than an academic standard. It's about the whole child - the whole individual. If we aren't valuing morals, compassion, empathy, sympathy, hard work, perseverance, authenticity, vulnerability, resilience, problem-solving, then we must be able to accept a future full of robotic shells instead of humans. 

I'm not ok with that. In my classroom, you are a human first and a student second. I plan to keep it that way.