TESTING TESTING 123
We have gotten 470 signatures in 3 days! The petition is starting to spread to other cities around Florida.
The best way to make this bigger is to sign it and share it with as many FLORIDIANS as possible.
SHARE IF YOU CARE!!!!
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/testing-testing-123-1
Sign the petition: Testing Testing 123
Testing Testing 123
To be delivered to The Florida State House, The Florida State Senate, and Governor Rick Scott
PETITION STATEMENT
We challenge legislators to visit at least two schools for a minimum of 45 minutes and meet with teachers, administrations, parents and students to understand the issues better, to begin to have an open dialog with the people directly impacted by the testing environment and to start to make real progress in a more logical process.
There are currently 451 signatures. NEW goal – We need 500 signatures!
PETITION BACKGROUND
- If it is your goal to see our teachers stressed out to the max: you are succeeding!
• If it is your goal to take the heart and passion out of teaching: you are succeeding!
• If it is your goal to turn our kids into machines with no possibility to be inspired: you are succeeding!
• If it is your goal to tear apart families with the stress of homework and extra tutoring that take away from family time all in the name of preparing for these tests: you are succeeding!
• If it is your goal to prove to yourselves that our students are the best with ridiculous testing that has no validity or true measure of anything…you are succeeding!
• If it is your goal to torture everyone in the system with teacher pay directly linked with student test results: you are succeeding!
• If it is your goal to keep our teachers on edge by changing their goals and schedules and forcing them to change their lesson plans throughout the year to meet these demands: you are succeeding!Is the message we are trying to send clear enough? You are destroying everything good about teaching and learning! The heart of education is dying. The best teachers are hanging on for dear life and many are choosing to leave because they are just fed up with the system. Parents and children are unable to have quality home life because they are in a mad race to complete all of the homework tasks assigned and completely terrified all year of the inevitable testing which is consuming months of teaching the tests and taking up precious learning time!
After school activities should be enhancing the children’s lives, not enslaving them to their education. The school system has already practically eliminated all of the arts, recess, music, and other enrichments due to “lack of funding.”. They should be enjoying sports, friendships, hobbies and family life, not doing more school work!
• We parents serve on PTAs and volunteer during and after school.
• We donate money and time to help our teachers improve their learning environments.
• We raise money in addition to the taxes we already pay because our school doesn’t have enough to purchase basic supplies and equipment and make improvements to the school.
• We work side by side with the administration and other parents trying to raise money for our school in an effort to make it the best it can possibly be.
• We believe our system is completely out of control and that whoever is making the decisions is either not well informed or knowledgeable about the education system or simply does not care!
• We believe that the powers that be are completely out of touch with the reality of schools and their barriers, processes and challenges as well as the financial burdens and lack of time to complete all requirements.We need the madness to stop. Our teachers, parents, students, and administration need a break! We encourage each of you to visit at least two schools for a minimum of 45 minutes and meet with teachers, administrations, parents, and students to understand the issues better, to begin to have an open dialog with the people directly impacted, so that you can get a real life perspective and start to understand our plight.
• How is it that students and parents were told they would be taking an online writing exam (typed) this year, yet there were no plans, money or time to teach them how to type properly? How is it that a timed writing test can be given to students that have rudimentary typing skills (more likely thumb only texting skills)?
• How is it that our schools with their minimal funding and overcrowding can be expected to prepare and test all of their students with insufficient computer labs?
• How is it that you expect to inspire brilliance and forward thinking and innovation when you are twisting the learning to the point of absurd stupidity. The amount of time it is taking to teach our children the ridicuous processes/requirements of the lessons could be better spent giving the extra time towards creativity in the classroom which is what really engages the students. If you treat them like robots, they will become robots.
• The people across the nation are standing up and demanding a change! What are you planning to do yourself to serve the people that have put you in your positions? Do you care? We want to know what you are prepared to do to find new answers that make sense.We need change!
