But sometimes you just don't.
This is the first year of a new curriculum in our district, and so far we've heard from the teachers that they are using tests they haven't seen before. What does that even mean? is what we're wondering, until we sit down with the test and begin to understand.
And not only that: a new grading system, weighted grades on a 70/30 split, and a much-dreaded (by the teachers!) cumulative semester exam that will be 10% of our grade. This test is SO ominous, apparently, that we are encouraged not to miss ANY days of school so as not to lose our test waivers. (Which means a lot of us are showing up sick for school, including tests, but that's another post for another day.)
The good news? This will be the first year my class will NOT spend most of the second semester preparing for the four TAKS tests we've taken every year since the third grade.
I know someone who chose to go to a college that doesn't give grades, just some kind of annual evaluation by professors about strengths and weaknesses, growth and development, etc. He said he was tired of all the intensity and competition at his big, crowded high school. I understand, I really do.
What would I choose for myself if I could choose something completely different?
Classes smaller than 35-40, for one thing; hallways that aren't so crowded that we experiment with one-way routes (like that works any better!); and no 45-minute classes with a 5-minute bell schedule. If I never hear another bell that will be just fine with me, or see another clock on the wall stopped at some impossible time.
It's still a little strange to think that now is the time when I can make a different choice about what I want next for myself.
