Thursday, May 12, 2011

Bittersweet Symphony

By far the most bittersweet week in my 9-month teacher career, EOG testing week is finally here. At the moment, the “bitter” is much more apparent than the “sweet”. It’s Thursday, the last day of testing, and my students will not. stop. talking. It’s hard to blame them, considering that for the past 3 days, they’ve had to be quiet for almost 4 hours straight. They’ve taken a 9 passage, 62 question long reading test followed by a two-part, 82 question math test. They’re tired, I know. They’re ansty, I know. But do they have to be so LOUD?

We’re encouraged to still use the time after the test to teach. Ummmmm....yeah right. I’ve spent the past 3 days trying to come up with creative ways to keep them entertained, because, oh yeah, I have the same 21 kids all day long. From 7:45 to 3:00, with a 30 minute lunch break . This must be illegal--the teachers have no break! My only escape is when my proctor watches my class while I go turn in my official test materials, which takes all of 2 minutes. The 7th graders eat lunch last, which has been around 2:00 these past two days. I can’t eat in front of them, so by about 12:00 (if not earlier) we’re all cranky and it becomes unbearable. Yesterday I taught them a logic puzzle using pennies and organized a tournament bracket. I also showed an episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and we practiced some math problems that I created to go with the episode.

Since today is the last day, I decided to show a movie to keep them quiet but also celebrate the fact that they’re done. But still, the talking is out of control. Some are complaining about not being able to hear the movie, others are complaining because they are bored, and still others are begging to switch classes. Honeys, I don’t want you here anymore than you want to be here. It is absolutely miserable for all of us.

My only saving grace is the fact that we (the teachers) are supposed to be pulled out early to work on organizing/processing test materials. I’m praying that they are on time and that I get rescued from this pit in the next two hours.

But the worst is yet to come. Most school districts hold off on testing until the end of the year, so there is ample time to prepare and little time left over after testing. Halifax County, however, has a different system in place. We spend a week in May testing, a week remediating those who do not pass the test the first time, and a week retesting. So basically, I get to go through this week all over again. Then, we’ll have a week and 3 days after the test and before the last day of school. Who in the WORLD thought that was a good idea? Or productive, or efficient, or a good use of time?

You may be wondering where the “sweet” is in all of this. The “sweet” came in yesterday at 3:00, when every kid was on the bus, and I knew I could go home with no worries or obligations. I didn’t have to lesson plan or prepare activities for a lesson. Instead, I laid in the sun, made phone calls, went for a run, baked cookies, painted my toenails, read a little, and watched Modern Family stress-free. In the moments where the memory of the day has faded away, all of that free time feels worth the epic 7-hour struggle.

And then 7:45 am comes, and I’m singing a different tune.

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