Each year in elementary, the kids are bombarded with testing. I have always kinda winced at it because I was under the impression that it was directly a result of No Child Left Behind. True, however.....
The GATE program, as you may or may not know is the Gifted & Talented Education seems to also be a direct result of the same damn test, that I have been mocking. Either I missed the info, most likely, or never got the memo.. whichever. Here is what I learned now, too late for GATE Seminar, but maybe not too late for GATE cluster.
The STAR testing, also known as the CST testing which occurs in 2nd grade puts kids into the program. But, according to this little form I just got, there is a SECOND chance. IF since then, they have had 2 advanced scores on they get tested again for GATE Cluster and if they had 5 advanced scores, they get a second shot at seminar.
Since we made the decision to put the kid in the John Harvard Academy and take a serious proactive take on these academics, her scores went through the roof! It goes to show with the right encouragement, your average kid can do anything! She only got 3 our of 6 advanced scores on her STAR testing. I am still very pleased with that. We just set the bar higher, and through it she leaped.
She may or may not make it into the program. I hope she does, I hope she get an even higher bar to leap over.
What bums me out, is my attitude towards those tests. I am saddened at my general anger at the whole 'testing' thing, and it being used to grade schools & teachers.
I know our kids are being raised to be test takers and not well rounded thinkers.
And I am feeling like a hypocrite.
I am also facing this damn hourglass. At any moment, she will be a teenager who hates me and thinks everything is "boring". Hope we can cram enough smarts in her little head so she may make it through. :)
I pray she has enough hobbies and interests that will keep her away from all the things that can destroy your youth. It is a slippery slope, as I say with experience. After you loose it all, it is hard to get it back.
On that note. I was working in the administration office of the Zoo today. I was filing all these donation letters. One was a donation of 6.6 million. I wasn't envious of that family, I wasn't envious of the higher ups around me, I was envious of not finishing college before starting a family. When you are young, there is this notion of having kids makes you all grown up. It is hard raising kids while still working on your degree. What did I read the other day? It costs 64K a year for a family of 3? How do you make that on minimum wage? Ugh.
God, give this kid the smarts to do it right. School, College, CAREER then start a family. That equation is so tough rearranged...
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