Weeks 12 & 13

The students have been testing for what seems like forever. It's all on the computers, and I'm not allowed to help them with anything. I've also been gone for half a week out of town, so hopefully this week when I return, the testing will be over.

My third graders have been taking the AZ Merit and another test, but since they're on computers, the tests have the ability to generate new test questions based on the students' skill level. If the students do poorly on a subject, the computer will generate more and more questions until it feels the students have mastered the material. Unfortunately, this means that the students who don't try will never ever complete the test. There were students in the classroom when I arrived who had already been taking the test for five hours. Many of the children in my classes have learning disabilities, and it is easy for them to get discouraged when they are repeatedly asked questions they don't understand. This brings down their moral and work ethic and leads them to answer as many questions as fast as possible just to be finished with their test. But on the computers, this has the opposite effect.

It takes forever.

I sat in on an eighth grade class during one of the days my third graders were testing and they were surprisingly calm and well-behaved. They read The Outsiders and practiced grammar for the AZ Merit and worked on a vocabulary project. They stared at me more when I first came in than the little kids do, probably because I look closer to their age and can't pass off as just another teacher. Sometimes I honestly feel like I blend in perfectly with the eighth graders. It's a little scary.

My first graders, however, were finished with their testing last week and worked on writing and learning about Earth Day. They watched videos about how to keep our earth clean, and even though one girl kept insisting electricity was good for the environment, I think the students took away some valuable lessons. The student teacher also led a class where the students worked on discerning facts and opinions. I found it was particularly hard for them to decide whether "cats are cute" was a fact or not because one little girl was so insistent that it was true. Still, I think my first graders have come a long way since I started my internship. They no longer cry when they have to write and they don't need a rewards system to keep in line. I only have a few more weeks at Sunset Heights, but I hope I'll continue to see the students grow and end the school year successfully.