As I was reading Hard Times, I was struck by the statement "stick to facts". In the classroom in the book, the teacher was only concerned with facts. He did not allow students to wonder or "fancy". He called Sissy girl number 20, and not even by name.
I would not have survived in a classroom setting like this. How sad a world it would be if children were never encouraged to dream, but to stick to facts only.
I think that a similar thing is happening in today's society concerning testing. Children are tested so much..it's about FACTS. Children aren't given as much hands on/ discovery learning time, because of strict schedules and testing. I hope that we are not killing creativity to achieve higher test scores.

I feel the same way. Test are what we are teaching and that is all students know how to do. Students can not have any creativity due to the fact that administrators want you to teach children what they need to know just for the test. We are short changing our students due to the fact that we are robbing them of their creativity.

I was reading something the other day that reminded me of this book and the topics we have discussed in class. It was a quote by someone saying something to the effect of "We only value what we can measure." I found this to be very sad bc it implies that if a students intelligence level cannot be measured through testing then it's not of any value to society. It made me think of all that creative intelligence that isn't tested on standardized test. Are they really saying that a students creative intelligence isn't valued in our society? If not then the world is one boring place of nothing but facts with no room for anything else. If this is the mentality of our public schools then we need to make a change and realize that we are disabling our students. As my grandmother use to say "Their getting the short end of the stick!"

I agree with you Shea. It seems like our schools only value things measurable; ie testing data. When I worked in Statesville with Sam we tested kids all the time. We conducted short cycles, PA's, CFA's, etc. It was literally an assessment each week. We lived off of data. It supposedly taught us how to teach. This is sad.

I also thought it was interesting like Melissa said about calling the students in the book by numbers instead of name. I know it's sad but it's true that there are schools still calling their students by their lunch number or number in class. They are people, just like Dr. Byant said this past Monday in class; we should treat them that way and not ignore their baggage.

What really interests me is that today even though we have all these theories out that go againest what we are reading in Hards Times, we continue to still value fact over feeling. Why? I know we need facts...but why do we continue to treat our students like that is all they need to know. i think it is Ralph Waldo Emmerson who said something like " it is the things unseen to us that count the most." What if we started not worrying about the "facts" and started focusing on the things that could not be measured. We would probabley have a more caring society where people value learning. Just a thought.

We've got to stick to the facts because that gives us good test scores. Dont you know that those tests scores provide valuable data and that data drives instruction? At least that's what the higher ups want us to believe. They want us to give them that facts, but while were at it let them be creative and construct their own knowledge/beliefs. How about we build relationships, create a safe nonthreatening learning environment for our students. A feeling of belonging and security will boost something more valuable than a test score. Something they can take with them throughout life.

I agree with you Crystal that teaching is about relationships. We have all had students who worked harder than every before due to our relationship with those children. The push for higher and higher standards and standardized testing limit the time we have to develop those relationships. When I think back to the teachers who inspired me, the inspiration rarely came from a bubble sheet.

Talking about creating relationships, don't you feel sometimes we are the only friend or parent some of these students have? When my students come in they have so many stories to tell me, and I wonder if anyone talks to them when they are at home. I just feel like sticking to the facts all the time and not listening to the questions and ideas these students have, hurts them. There are questions that my students ask in science that take us into deep discussions, and I love those days. I feel like if we stray away from the facts every now and then it will help our students understand that teachers do have a heart and interests.

I agree Melissa. We have become so driven by testing that "the facts" are all the students get. We teach them just enough to pass the test and nothing more, which I believe stifles their creativity and excitement for learning.

Not only have we took the students creativity and excitement for learning but the teachers to. Teacher have no room to be creativity. They have to teach to the test. I did not realize had bad it was till this year. I am now in a testing grade and you have no time at all for creativity or fun in the classroom.