I’m new to Twitter but I follow/stalk a few people and
recently I saw someone post about World Read Aloud Day 2015. I was immediately
excited and ran to my principal and several colleagues to drum up enthusiasm
and figure out how we could make this a reality at our school. I was already envisioning buddy reading opportunities, assemblies, storytelling, all sorts of inspiring literature being read aloud to students.
My few 'go-to' colleagues eagerly agreed that it was a great idea and I quickly ran down to the principal's office. I dropped a packet on his desk and exclaimed, “We have to do this!” He is used to placating me and having to put up with my hair-brain schemes. But this time, I had back up. Key
players were on board. The ball was in the air. He looked through the packet, asked a few questions and said, "Let's do it!"
And now, it’s a no go. Not for a lack of enthusiasm. Not for
a lack of trying. Not for a lack of participants. Standardized testing got in
the way. On the day of World Read Aloud Day 2015, we are scheduled to take a
state-mandated assessment. And
just like that a meaningful, engaging community building activity has just been
stomped by the crushing weight of standardized testing.
Literature is such an important element in children's lives. We use literature to bring different cultures, different experiences, and different stories to the students. World Read Aloud
Day could have been filled with reading stories that inspired compassion,
belonging, acceptance of others and ultimately helped students to make the
world a better place. But, instead, we’ll be demonstrating how college and
career-ready we are.
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