No Interruptions Please
As I work to prepare for the upcoming school year, I always write up the first two weeks of lessons plans. Yet even as I write them into my lesson plan book, I know that everything I write is subject to change as there will be countless interruptions to our normal schedule from handbook assemblies to picture day to ear and eye checks, It is one of those annoying issues we complain about every year to no avail. We have even suggested that they bundle all of these interruptions into one day and be done with it. Obviously, this suggestion has not taken root.
But as difficult as these countless interruptions are, at least they are at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, we find ourselves complaining about the many interruptions that occur throughout the year, especially the ones that inconveniently get scheduled in the weeks prior to state assessment tests. This is a time that should be adamantly reserved for the most intensive review and preparation. It is not a time for programs and assemblies, follow-up eye and ear exams, etc. that could be scheduled at other times. Our principal has developed better hearing over the years and cut down on many of these interruptions, but many still remain.
What gets me is this: all year long we have meetings about how to improve our test scores, spend hours poring over last year’s test results to target weak areas, provide intervention for those students who did not pass tests the year before, create pre-assessments and short-cycled assessments to track our students’ progress, work through test prep materials to familiarize students with test format, and create various review activities to increase learning. We are inundated with the message that it is critical that our students pass these tests. There is absolutely no doubt, as far as teachers are concerned, with the necessity to get students in their classroom to do their very best.
Then here is the big question: if this is our school systems’ goal, if this is as important as we have been repeatedly drilled that it is, then why isn’t every attempt being made to limit interruptions which distract our students and derail our lessons? Come on, principals, if high performance on state achievement test is so important to our schools then please help us to make it the priority you want it to be!