Thursday, July 19, 2012

I Think I am Ready

Knit or Read?

For the past couple of weeks, I've been preparing for the Praxis "Elementary Education Content Knowledge" test.  All in the name of "No Child Left Behind" to prove that I am "Highly Qualified" to teach at an elementary school here in Alaska.

In Minnesota, I was "Highly Qualified" to teach in an elementary education school/setting just because I had the degree and had passed the PPST (Pre-Profesional Skills Test) to get my Elementary Teaching License.

Forget that I have been teaching for 18 years, that also would allow me to be "Highly Qualified" in Minnesota if I didn't have the license in a specific area.

Never mind that I have had many children gain more than one year's skills for one year in my classroom.

We won't mention the number of students I have worked with that have gone from not being able to read in the fall, leaving in the spring reading at grade 3 or higher.  For some reason, I seem to have had several 3rd graders enter our school/my classroom not being able to read, but everything clicks when they were in treatment and have left at the end of the school year reading at a beginning third grade level. I have my hypothesis for this phenomena, but won't bore you with my hypothesis!

No, give me a test on CONTENT!

Anyway I think I am ready.  I have taken every sample test I can get my hands on for this particular test and have earned a "passing" score on all of them.  I think it is time to put the reading material away, and relax.  It is 70 degrees out (WARM for Alaska), and I am going to go out and enjoy the sun!

I am smarter than a 6th grader, darn it!  I will prove it Saturday!


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