I am one of the parents protesting these changes and who attended the CTA support rally last night. You, and many others, don't have much hope that we can make changes in this matter and you may have a point. We are up against a strong bureaucracy. However, no matter what the outcome, I can look my son in the eye every day and tell him that I did everything possible for him. There is no way I could live with myself as a parent if I just sat back and did nothing.
We need as many parents as possible to join us via the Facebook groups and in person to show their support. By staying silent, you are sending a message of consent. Our children and teachers deserve more.

The departmentalization is kinda wild - my daughter is just in Kindergarten and she has to switch classes for math and science.

Initial testing I don't have an issue with is it means that my daughter is put into the appropriate reading group. But assessment testing all year long seems a little excessive.

I don't care if the teachers like the new poicy or not. They should do as they are told. The teachers are not in charge.

Testing can be a good barometer of how well a child is learning. Let's give this a chance before we complain.

The best and most effective protest:
Pull your kids out of the school system and home school. Stop the insanity. Switching classrooms for math and science in kindergarten? Give me a break!

If I had only one child, then I would home school. And that is coming from someone who previously thought home-schoolers were nut-cases. Boy have I ever seen the light.

If you can afford it find a good private school. Most give standardized tests in the beginning of the year and that is it. Not all are priced through the stratosphere either.

Dan, standardized testing is not a good barometer of how kids are learning anymore. It's a barometer of how well teachers are teaching those kids to take those tests. It's truly insane and takes way too much time away from REAL learning.

I think the problem is our major gripes are not clear enough... I will be posting a more direct list of the issues on the site parents4teachers.org (same as com-it.com/palmbeachcounty) later today... in clear precise points why this is more than just teachers complaining about more work, or parents complaining about some tests being added... this is so so much more!!

I am very frustrated and extremely angry. Yes I said it, and I will say it again, I am really ticked off. Imagine within 6 weeks, I have seen my child enthusiasm go way way down. My child is in the "so called gifted" program in royal palm beach and it seen that she has not learned anything new since kindegarten. All she has been learning is just plain repeats. talk about getting bored. Since she has started 2nd grade, we are not sure what she has been learning in class. I don't know what the teacher is teaching her because nothing is being sent home, so I am not able to review the material with her to be sure she understands what she is being "taught". She is being tested every day,and basically, we don't know what she is being tested on until the grades come home. My child has even told me that the kids with lower test score, or those who have not passed the test are called up and are given a second chance to pass the test, so basically they are given the correct answer and just like that their scores are changed to passing. They take alot of open book test, don't know how anyone can learn with open bood test, but that is what they do. I just don't get it. Our kids are not learning at all, they are teaching them to pass one type of test, the FCAT. Mr. Johnson did not make any sense this morning on Sunny 104. He kept repeating the same things. In my opinion, Mr. Johnson does not care too hoot about our kids, and that go also for Mr. Hernadez. I regret moving to this area. I am also worried about my little one. I don't whan her do lose that motivation she has always had for learning. She is so bright and talented and is well deserving of the anything better than what Mr. Johnson and Mr. Hernandez has implemented........

So glad my kids are almost out of here. When did it become about politics and not our children? Art Johnson needs a refresher course in what his job is all about. Obviously, he's forgotten. i say we give the Superintendent and the Academic adviser embedded tests! They'd probably have to be 're-taught' a few times before they got it right if how they are running things is any indication. Let's get rid of them as soon as possible. They are doing no good. So why keep them?

Sick of the district? Tired of testing?
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