Learning in place of testing … wow!

excerpt from The Independent

“May 10, 2010

Nearly half of schools to boycott SATs as teachers rebel

By Richard Garner, Education Editor

As many as 300,000 11-year-olds will find their national curriculum tests cancelled this morning …

The NUT – along with the National Association of Head Teachers – has voted in favour of boycotting the tests because they believe the importance placed on them – with performance tables based on their results – has forced schools to teach to the tests at the expense of the broader curriculum …

Meanwhile, at an anti-SATs rally in London‘s Jubilee Gardens yesterday, children’s authors revealed they would be going into schools to read poetry and tell stories to provide pupils with an alternative to the SATs.

The author Alan Gibbons said at the rally: “We will be conducting poetry sessions, reading books and doing story-telling activities – trying to show an alternative approach to SATs.”

More than 90 children’s authors and illustrators signed an open letter to the Government warning that the tests were switching pupils off reading because they concentrated on learning excerpts from books for the tests rather than reading the whole story.

Ms Blower told the rally: “We are standing up and saying we must get rid of the SATs and the league tables. Let’s make sure that every child has a great year unencumbered by ridiculous tests and make schools a SATs-free zone.”

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Visa … priceless

So I’m moving to England next month … didn’t seem like such a big deal when I agreed to take the job at ACS (well, it did actually – but that’s another story). Seems like getting a work visa stamp for the passport entails more hoop-jumping than I’ve done in a long time. I told my 13-year-old that there was a lot of red tape and she asked my where all the red tape is, ‘cos she didn’t see any …

So, after renewing my passport (has to be good for at least five years, and mine was rather worn out and due to expire) … applying (and paying!) for the work visa, getting approved by the UK government for a work permit, notarizing all sorts of documents (marriage license, birth certificate, etc) … still had one more thing to do: get my biometrics taken.

biometrics

Sounds a bit invasive, but really it was just fingerprints and a digital photo. I went to the local processing center which turned out to be the US immigration services center. Wow! Must have heard 20 different languages in the waiting room. So many people all coming from so many countries. I saw most continents represented (don’t think there was anyone from Antarctica). There was a big sign on the wall: Can you recite the pledge of allegiance? Gary was teasing me – do you know it? will you be able to recite it? I replied that I am fairly sure you don’t need to say the pledge of allegiance to leave the US … but you never know.

Bit of a strange experience … but since I took the day off for a 20-minute appointment, we wen to the movies in the middle of the day (decadent!). Saw The Wackness (Ben Kingsley is great – or should I say DOPE – in this film). Then ate at Cuba Libre in Old City … if you’re in Philly – check it out.