My wife is a middle school teacher. This past week all of the teachers at her school have had to wear black shirts with a SMILEY face on them, during the California standardized testing. Banners hanging around the classroom saying "DO YOUR BEST ON THE TEST ~ HAVE A NICE DAY ".
This is supposed to help put the child at ease ~ feel good thing ~
Teachers think it's and so do I. The kids are 11 - 13 for crying out loud, not pre-school!
Well, I'm of two minds. The standardized testing debate isn't really what you're asking for, anyway, so I won't get into why I'm not sure its the best idea, at least as its structured right now.
I will say that seeing their teachers acting silly, wearing funny shirts, and even just laughing at the absurdity of the messages might help these kids relax a bit, which might improve scores. It won't be because of the messages, though, it will be because mocking the messages with their peers will provide a welcome break from the stress of the testing. Unless it is negatively affecting concentration, I don't think its harming anything, and it might just loosen up the environment enough that stress is slightly reduced for those being tested (and they have done studies to show improved test performance when students aren't so nervous).
It is silly, but that may be a positive where scores are concerned. Of course, if the kids get TOO lighthearted, they may not focus at all on the test, also not good. I'd be interested to hear other thoughts...
Pre-schoolers wouldn't likely pay attention to a t-shirt. I think having a fun, positive message is a great idea for kids that age! I know my nephew (10) would enjoy it. Then again, maybe my nephew is just odd since he likes fun t-shirts and signs.
THANKS FOR THE INPUT GALS ~ my son is also a teacher, high school juniors and seniors ~ from the stories he and my wife tell me it just seems that it is all about making the kids FEEL good ~
What ever happened to "punishment" for NOT doing your homework and studying? Maybe that is why so many college students are not MAKING it! Why so many companies are looking outside of the US for their employees in the "upper" fields.
Of course I don't want children to be afraid of school ~ but it AIN'T a game either ~ it is their job!!!
Well I seem to be outnumbered but I think it is stupid, stupid, stupid. Like there is not enough lack of respect for teachers and seeing them as authority... put them in some silly smiley face T-shirts to make the whole thing seem even MORE dumbed down than the system has already made it.
I think the tee shirts are a fun idea. Regardless of how "grown-up" and sophistocated tweens want you to believe they are, they are still KIDS and should be allowed the occasional giggle.
For pete's sake, folks, let them laugh and enjoy their lives. They have a long enough time to be dour adults out of whom all the whimsy and joy of life has been sucked.
I think the shirts will probably break some of the tension. For some kids, the shirts will provide a smile at face value (pun intended). For the more mean-spirited kids (which tweens can be, let's face it), the shirts will give them something to point and laugh at.
Yes, exams are serious business (and as mentioned above, we can argue... um, debate... on a different thread whether standardized exams are a good or bad thing), but as far as the tee shirts go, I say go for it.
For pete's sake, folks, let them laugh and enjoy their lives. They have a long enough time to be dour adults out of whom all the whimsy and joy of life has been sucked.
I'm all for letting them laugh and enjoy their lives. I just think our schools have gone way overboard with lack of discipline and respect for authority and we are seeing the consequences.
I'm all for letting them laugh and enjoy their lives. I just think our schools have gone way overboard with lack of discipline and respect for authority and we are seeing the consequences.
Whew! I'm glad you don't want it to be all "No more laughter, no more fun, now the schoolyear has begun...".
Regarding the lack of discipline, I don't think that can be laid entirely at the feet of the schools. A lot of that lack is on the parents' or families' sides. Too many kids out there with no supervision, no guidance, no direction... Too many of those same kids dumped in a classroom with too few supplies and far too few teachers. Too many parents are simply not involved.
The schools aren't perfect by any means, but they don't have perfection to work with.
By the way, I asked my own teen this morning how he thought the tee shirts would be perceived in high school. He didn't think it would be a big deal, although he thought it might be perceived as a little silly if they did it in high school. He thought younger kids might like it. Just one kid's opinion.
I agree with Lena 100%. Yes, school is work and should be taken seriously. But kids (especially the age group we are talking about) should enjoy the experience as well. My opinion is that the teacher's job is to educate our children and make learning an enjoyable experience. It is the PARENTS who are responsible for making clear the importance and seriousness of school. Our public schools are not a free babysitting service although many parents treat it as such. My husband was once a teacher and, as a parent, I work closely with my children's school/teachers. I have observed first hand that kids who are taught disciplined, respectful behavior do not require much disciplinary action by the teacher. These students would probably get a kick out of the t-shirts and the t-shirts probably take some of the stress out testing for them. For the other kids, well, I doubt they would show the proper respect for authority if the teachers showed up wearing three piece suits. So, why let their behavior spoil the fun spirits of teachers for the whole class? I don't think the message of the smilies is that the tests aren't serious, rather that the tests don't have to be a painful, anxiety filled event.
On another note, I think it is a little unfair to compare what motivates 11 year olds to that of what motivates a more mature college student or working adult. But, for the sake of argument, I've never held a position where the company didn't motivate employees with a a bit of fun. In the real world companies (at least the good ones) hold parties, quarterly kick offs, give awards, bosses take their employees to lunch before a big presentation or for a job well done, pass out t-shirts, bring donuts for breakfast. The list goes on and on. So, the "fun" provided by employers is more mature than that provided by schools and teachers of tweens. Isn't it SUPPOSED to be?
I'm all for letting them laugh and enjoy their lives. I just think our schools have gone way overboard with lack of discipline and respect for authority and we are seeing the consequences.
At the risk of starting a HUGE debate I have this to say: What consequences? Today is no different from 10, 20, 30, 100 or 1000 years ago. We do not sin more (or bigger) these days, our grandparents days WERE NOT all blissful and happy as some would have us believe. Kids killing each other, adults killing each other, adults killing kids and vice versa is not a new thing. No new crimes or sins have been invented in the last 50 years, they have always been around...ALWAYS. Whether you believe this world has been around for less than 5000 years or millions of year, it doesn't matter, kids have ALWAYS been kids (smarty pants discovering who and what they are or what to be). The ONLY difference I can find in todays society than ANY other one is this: Media-not that I'm blaming them for anything except this-we know about all the horrible stuff people do from all around the world on a daily basis, not in our small little town that we live in, with an occasional letter from a friend or relative telling us about their town. So there are my thoughts on the situation/topic...let the disagreeing begin!
Last edited by ooelsworth; 05-12-2006 at 12:33 PM.
I don't think the T-shirts would bother me...it's all in good fun, I suppose, and would take some stress off the day...those tests are so tedious and long!
BUT...
I do get a bit riled up with schools that 'baby' kids a tiny bit too much...like using purple ink to mark a wrong answer instead of red because red is too negative. I think kids should take wrong answers more seriously because it effects their grades. I don't want kids to be humiliated or made to 'feel bad' in school, but back in my day, there were consequences when you did bad or acted bad...now, a kid came to Shelley's school with POT...a SIXTH grader. And he was suspended...which, to me, it's like..."Bad boy!! Now you will be punished with a ONE MONTH VACATION!!" And I'm thinking, what juvenile delinquent is going to think THAT is a bad thing? "Woohoo!! When my one month is done, I'm gonna bring in MORE pot so I can stay home for TWO months next time!!"
Anyhow..Gary...first of all...I'm pretty sure you started this thread to get all us girls all riled up (because I KNOW you) and second of all, I agree with what you're getting at...that we baby our kids too much and let them not take things seriously enough to have an ounce of responsibility for their own actions. That type thing. The shirts don't bother me, but it's close to bothering me.
Techwife, you've given a good example of the point I'm trying to make. Whether or not a child's suspension is "vacation" really has nothing to do with the school. You can bet that if any of my kids were suspended for ANYTHING that they'd find themselves in a much more miserable situation than the one they had to endure in the classroom. I don't look at a suspension as a punishment from school. It is a statement that they do not tolerate certain behaviors on their property and there are consequences to NOT being able to attend school. I know that when kids were suspended in my day it often meant that they failed that semester, if not the year, because they were not allowed to make up missed work. It isn't the school's job to make sure my children follow the rules. It is mine. The shcool's only responsiblity is to make sure I am aware of the consequences if I don't. And I am the only person responsible for making sure that, if my children break those rules, they regret doing it.
I tell my kids all of the time that I can't MAKE them do anything - but I can make them WISH that they had!
I think there is a world of difference between making school (and especially testing) more fun and less stressful and completely forgoing discipline! Very few people think discipline is unnecessary in any way, some people just want to include some other rewards or other approaches to change behaviors in addition. They've shown that fun (particularly active fun, but all kinds of fun) can actually reduce behavior problems, and can reduce them beyond traditional methods of discipline. I also really like rewards going along with discipline - not just one or the other. If students get called out for behaving poorly, but not recognized for behaving well, it isn't going to do much good. I agree that this is a lot like the business world - one of the leading causes of dissatisfaction in the modern workplace is feeling like you're giving your all to something and not getting recognized for it. So I believe both are important.
I just read a really interesting study, actually, about the effects of physical fun on measurable behavioral outcomes - a school starting using a DDR-like video game (video game + dance moves, for those who haven't heard about it) and sending kids out in small groups throughout the day to go and play, in addition to recess and lunch times. What they found was that the kids not only started losing a bit of weight because of the extra exercise, but they saw this as a reward, and that they started behaving better in class when they'd had a bit of a rest period to do something fun. When they did this during standardized testing, school-wide scores went up pretty significantly.
I personally think that anything teachers can do to break up the monotonous nature of standardized testing is a good thing, whether it be something physical or something that is just more silly. I was an education/child development major and interned in a 3rd grade classroom right around the time the kids were doing STAR testing, and I can tell you first hand that these tests are actually VERY stressful for the kids. There was one girl who cried every morning when coming in to take the tests, and her asthma started acting up from stress, because she didn't feel like she could do well. I'm sure that her stress and panic did nothing to improve her scores. There are kids at ALL school grades who feel this way about tests - one of my education class professors also taught at a local middle school, and he would tell us stories of tough, misbehaving kids being VERY stressed about these tests.
I'd also like to point out that if these are standardized tests to address No Child Left Behind, teachers should be doing EVERYTHING that they can to reduce stress on the kids, because that will produce better outcomes, and standardized testing scores don't really affect the students individually, they reflect only on the teacher and the school. So as long as its not disrupting or causing problems, why not try a few different things to see if scores improve?
Smiley Face ~ Say Whaaaat?
SMILEY 
and so do I. The kids are 11 - 13 for crying out loud, not pre-school!
