Sad but too true

In my first block Lit and Language 11 class, we have a monster test on Arthur Miller's The Crucible. We had a fantastic time reviewing on Friday. We reviewed Jeopardy style and my students really got into it.

Now this morning, as a few students were getting ready for the test, I heard one kid tell his buddy, "It's a test. You just guess on most of them and hope for the best."

Measure that one NWEA or MCA! And we wonder why we are so far behind Asia and India. The truth is that kid - who I enjoy and who does have potential - would be sweeping a street or waiting tables, probably by the age of 13, if this was Asia or India. But we try and give him a shot at something better. And that's wonderful because I was one of those kids who would have been sweeping streets or waiting tables had it not been for my 9th grade English teacher.

But still . . .