Sunday, October 28, 2012
PSAT. What is this.......?????
A little over a week ago, our school participated in the statewide practice SAT examination. I started late in the school year last year, so this was a new experience for me. I was stunned at the lack of interest and the outright disdain the students showed for the testing process. As I began the administration, I thought back to when I first took the SAT, and how nervous I was that I would not get a high enough score to attend college. I did every study prep I could think of and I checked the mailbox every day for weeks until I got my scores. I administered the test in my advisory class that consists of about 22 children. When the students arrived and "found out" that they would be testing even though several announcements had been made previously, the complaining started almost immediately. Students refused to take the test because they had not been provided with a free breakfast by the school, others complained (the majority) that they didn't need the SAT because they were not going to college. Others wanted to know what in the world an PSAT was. I looked around the room during the testing an many of the children were asleep. I practiced classroom protocol and attempted to wake them, and was subsequently told by administration to allow them to sleep as long as they were not disrupting class. I learned through this experience, that times have changed. Education is no longer important, and does not provide what it did for me which was a dream of doing better in my life than my parents had. I get discouraged, but I continue to hope that the light bulb will come on for our youth.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
It's interesting that you mentioned this particular situation. Sometimes, I've subbed on test days and witnessed the exact same thing. It is horrible to see the stud rants are so uninterested in going to college. It's like they accept mediocrity and don't want anything more. It saddens me to hear these kids don't want any future. Like you said, I hope one day reality kicks in
I agree with you! This is a very sad situation with our young students of today. Times have certainly changed from the "Leave it to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best" days (these shows may be before your time) but it was the days when television stressed the importance of a wholesome household and the value of a good education. However, I assure you that education for most young students today does not hold as high a value as it once did back in those days. I think, advances in technology ie: (computers, the internet, Ipods, Ipads, etc, etc, etc)has made students of today "LAZY". I also think that a false sense of success through a career in the music industry has had a lot to do with interest in going to college (or finishing high school for that matter) shifting to
trying to get that record deal and become an overnight success. After all, why go to college when you can become a rock star, hip hop sensation or .com millionaire (today's mind-set) In short, today our young people are faced with more distractions from continuing their education and going to college than ever before. We can only hope that this shift changes and students begin to see the true value of a good and solid education and how a good education will serve them in there future.
Post a Comment