Over these last two weeks, kids at our school and across our state took the dreaded state-wide assessment. I was asked to administer the test to a lovely group of 7th graders, about half of whom I had previously taught. Practically no one looks forward to these experiences, but I was impressed with all the kids who showed up ready. They had a sense of determination and effort combined with a desire to do their best. In a project based school like ours, kids don't have a ton of exposure to formal testing but these kids had learned some skills over the year and were ready to show them off. That is, until we started the math portion. The same kids who carefully and tirelessly wrote essays and analyzed form the week before appeared dejected and defeated by math questions that I personally thought were fun. I saw them plan and organize thoughts for their writing but stare in blank frustration at math problems that I knew they could reason their way around. It made me sad that all my c
Thoughts and reflections on maximizing academic, professional and personal learning.