Letter to the Editor: WASL

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Dear Editor,

Our country has departed from our history’s pioneers in education that provided a creative process producing real education for pupils. The "No child left behind” legislation is a charade. It leads people to believe that everyone is alike in their thinking and with the “right score”, you are successful and intelligent.

As a retired teacher with over forty-four years teaching in public schools, colleges, and adult education arenas, I know that everyone has a different perception according to their own experience. In addition, every person has a different personality expressed through varied talents.

I learned in college that a test score is a statistic or number for that time and day in that one moment of a person’s life. I was told, “It is not an indication of intelligence or a realistic way to base a person’s success.” Real education employs creative skills, and other attributes that create self-respect from self-expression or people are like the Dead Sea. The only test should be to see if a person increases his or her own ability from the time before.

Many students have learning disabilities, dyslexia, panic taking tests, or cannot express themselves in this format. The current process denies and shames these pupils; they are not failures. Is it realistic to judge only left-brain skills on a few tests of a young life still learning and immature? Unfortunately, some big corporations would prefer students failing to insure a cheap work force.

The WASL is actually loosing the diversity that promotes growth and wisdom. When students are allowed to express themselves, drugs and violence are not be a way to cry for help like at Columbine. Forcing everyone’s thinking through the same hole becomes rubber stamp thinking as robots. Surface or orchestrated achievement often leaves emptiness inside. The current focus in education allows that only those that think alike and pass the state tests are successful.

Self-esteem in maturing by experience is success, not passing a test. Knowing yourself and being able to express it, indicates an educated person. I hope that education will stop teaching for tests and teach life as an experience to be lived with imagination and originality. "To Thine Own Self Be True", is the best education we can teach.

Marilyn Redmond
Edgewood, WA

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