Today’s front-page headline of the Pensacola News Journal states the third graders face “crunch time” because this is the first year that these eight and nine year olds will have to take the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Is that the message we want to send to these students’ parents and families?
Instead of excitement about learning, the daily newspaper starts putting pressure on these children before they even walk into their classrooms. Instead of having them excited about their new teachers, lunch boxes, book bags and clothes, the daily newspaper wants them thinking about the big tests that will have to take next spring.
Does it matter to these little kids what their FCAT scores are? No. Of course, not. But their teacher’s pay and the political careers of the School Superintendent and the School Board are riding on the small backs of these children.
We live in a bizarre world that puts so much stress and pressure on ones so young.