Every year at this time I feel the need to write about the same thing I’ve written about this time
of year since I became a public school teacher fourteen years ago and developed the practice
of self-reflection. It’s about testing. I hate it. And I hate feeling compelled to write about it every
year. Over the years I have learned how to channel the anger that this hatred inspires and this
year I’ve decided to focus it on trying to provoke a moratorium on standardized testing in
Seattle.
I know hatred is a strong word but in this case it is appropriate. My favorite Wisdom of the
Fathers right now is “Love work. Hate domination. Don’t get familiar with the authorities.” In spite
of its antiquity this saying strikes a fierce and necessary chord against domination. There is a
dominant hand on display when the testing starts. There are special conditions, special scripts
and the presence of the principal trying to not look nervous. It is evident in the roll out and
execution of the testing process. There is a distinct corporate atmosphere and the security of
the eurocentric content is protected with all of its sanctimonious pomp.
The hatred in this case is focused on the oppressor while the love from this saying is focused on
the things we do. And I love this work I do as a librarian in a school with an under resourced
population, delivering resources on target and on call. I love the fact that my job is social justice
on the go. But when I see what I think of as injustice around me I feel compelled to speak out of
my own privilege and pain. I speak from the shadow of the Nazi holocaust of the Jews which
completely discredited racism and eugenics. Here we are today using the same sorting and
ranking that was done by eugenicists to prove white superiority a century ago. Is that not
hateful? The sorting and ranking nowadays works as a type of mind control on a mass scale
because children believe these numbers have some mysterious power to determine their fate,
when in reality they are the mechanism that locks the hierarchy into place.
The hatred rises to anger which I am hoping prompts action. An action has the power to
promote change. If we are lucky enough to promote change then we will have the opportunity
for the love to take over. If that happens, then we get to do the work we know we should be
doing and that we want to do. If this could be the result of hating domination I wouldn’t turn it
down.
Then there is the realization that hating domination means not only hating the oppressor but
also hating any tendency in oneself to dominate others. I can only go so far as a provocateur
and it would be presumptuous of me to suggest solutions for problems I know nothing about.
We would clearly be moving into uncharted territory with a moratorium. It would take a
monumental effort but I think our challenge and charge deserves no less. There are a lot of
questions and I’m only aware of a few answers but what I have in full surety is the conviction
that ending this practice of stamping our children with these numbers is an anti racist action.
This moratorium would set into motion a series of responses to cope with logistics and to explore
opportunities. It would mean that there would be a period of district wide action research, which
could mean there would be 100 different research questions, one for each school, or schools
could cluster together around common research questions. All of this needs to be developed in
a collaborative effort.
This moratorium is not a move to eliminate standards, in fact it is my opinion that the standards
are too low, too few and too inflexible. They are also too eurocentric. We need to have enough
standards to be able to actually create culturally responsive classrooms. There need to be
enough measures to ensure a custom fit for all students. There also needs to be the realization
that not all standards apply to every individual.
The question comes forward, “If we remove the tests what mechanism will be in place to ensure
an equitable outcome for all students?” But the question assumes that having the tests in place
already ensures equitable outcomes when they don’t. It seems to me that they were designed to
produce unequal outcomes - so the first step in ensuring equitable outcomes is to remove the
mechanism that is preventing them from happening in the first place. Test scores most closely
correlate to zip codes, not intelligence. “Intelligence is as subjective as beauty. When will we
realize that? When will we realize we can not standardize intelligence and test those standards
and exclude people who don’t reach those subjective standards?” - Kendi. The test is the
problem not the solution.
The teaching profession as a whole is worth fighting for and this moratorium would go a long
way to returning power to the teachers which ultimately empowers the families. At this point in
history it is teachers that are leading the way in resistance to the status quo and struggle
against complacency. It is up to the teachers to inspire and instruct our families to advocate for
the best outcomes for their children and for all children, regardless of race, ethnic origin, sexual
identity, status as an ELL, IEP, advanced or struggling learner, by eliminating the most rigid
barrier of them all, standardized testing. It is the authority that we shouldn't be getting familiar with.
of year since I became a public school teacher fourteen years ago and developed the practice
of self-reflection. It’s about testing. I hate it. And I hate feeling compelled to write about it every
year. Over the years I have learned how to channel the anger that this hatred inspires and this
year I’ve decided to focus it on trying to provoke a moratorium on standardized testing in
Seattle.
I know hatred is a strong word but in this case it is appropriate. My favorite Wisdom of the
Fathers right now is “Love work. Hate domination. Don’t get familiar with the authorities.” In spite
of its antiquity this saying strikes a fierce and necessary chord against domination. There is a
dominant hand on display when the testing starts. There are special conditions, special scripts
and the presence of the principal trying to not look nervous. It is evident in the roll out and
execution of the testing process. There is a distinct corporate atmosphere and the security of
the eurocentric content is protected with all of its sanctimonious pomp.
The hatred in this case is focused on the oppressor while the love from this saying is focused on
the things we do. And I love this work I do as a librarian in a school with an under resourced
population, delivering resources on target and on call. I love the fact that my job is social justice
on the go. But when I see what I think of as injustice around me I feel compelled to speak out of
my own privilege and pain. I speak from the shadow of the Nazi holocaust of the Jews which
completely discredited racism and eugenics. Here we are today using the same sorting and
ranking that was done by eugenicists to prove white superiority a century ago. Is that not
hateful? The sorting and ranking nowadays works as a type of mind control on a mass scale
because children believe these numbers have some mysterious power to determine their fate,
when in reality they are the mechanism that locks the hierarchy into place.
The hatred rises to anger which I am hoping prompts action. An action has the power to
promote change. If we are lucky enough to promote change then we will have the opportunity
for the love to take over. If that happens, then we get to do the work we know we should be
doing and that we want to do. If this could be the result of hating domination I wouldn’t turn it
down.
Then there is the realization that hating domination means not only hating the oppressor but
also hating any tendency in oneself to dominate others. I can only go so far as a provocateur
and it would be presumptuous of me to suggest solutions for problems I know nothing about.
We would clearly be moving into uncharted territory with a moratorium. It would take a
monumental effort but I think our challenge and charge deserves no less. There are a lot of
questions and I’m only aware of a few answers but what I have in full surety is the conviction
that ending this practice of stamping our children with these numbers is an anti racist action.
This moratorium would set into motion a series of responses to cope with logistics and to explore
opportunities. It would mean that there would be a period of district wide action research, which
could mean there would be 100 different research questions, one for each school, or schools
could cluster together around common research questions. All of this needs to be developed in
a collaborative effort.
This moratorium is not a move to eliminate standards, in fact it is my opinion that the standards
are too low, too few and too inflexible. They are also too eurocentric. We need to have enough
standards to be able to actually create culturally responsive classrooms. There need to be
enough measures to ensure a custom fit for all students. There also needs to be the realization
that not all standards apply to every individual.
The question comes forward, “If we remove the tests what mechanism will be in place to ensure
an equitable outcome for all students?” But the question assumes that having the tests in place
already ensures equitable outcomes when they don’t. It seems to me that they were designed to
produce unequal outcomes - so the first step in ensuring equitable outcomes is to remove the
mechanism that is preventing them from happening in the first place. Test scores most closely
correlate to zip codes, not intelligence. “Intelligence is as subjective as beauty. When will we
realize that? When will we realize we can not standardize intelligence and test those standards
and exclude people who don’t reach those subjective standards?” - Kendi. The test is the
problem not the solution.
The teaching profession as a whole is worth fighting for and this moratorium would go a long
way to returning power to the teachers which ultimately empowers the families. At this point in
history it is teachers that are leading the way in resistance to the status quo and struggle
against complacency. It is up to the teachers to inspire and instruct our families to advocate for
the best outcomes for their children and for all children, regardless of race, ethnic origin, sexual
identity, status as an ELL, IEP, advanced or struggling learner, by eliminating the most rigid
barrier of them all, standardized testing. It is the authority that we shouldn't be getting familiar with.
