SCHOOLS NEED TO EXAMINE PRIORITIES

In general, I am opposed to standardized tests.

Standardized tests, one benchmark for evaluating all, drain the creativity
out of teaching, inhibit independent thought, and thwart risk while making
the world less safe from torpid analogies.

When in an adult's life do you feel the need to say, "You know, 'bungler'
is to 'finesse' as 'gossip' is to 'reserve"'? In a job interview?

Take a gander at samples from those charming monopolists at the College
Board - the answer above appeared on a 1998 PSAT, the preliminary college
admissions test - and a colonoscopy starts to look inviting.

Educational institutions have a wicked tendency toward uniformity when they
should be celebrating that most ignored of differences, intellectual diversity.

Face facts: It's the weird ones who end up making the difference.

Teaching is one of life's greatest challenges, but I've known parents
called in for conferences because their children were prone to daydreaming,
rampant imaginations and the inability to stay continuously focused for
eight hours. One friend, after hearing a litany of so-called problems from
a first-grade teacher, wisely replied, "The condition you have just
described is called B-O-Y. There is no known cure."

Uniformity has become so mandated, public school students in many cities
are now wearing identical button-downs while, in an ironic twist, many
pricey private institutions have abandoned plaids and drab shoes.

Their students now dress like unrepentant slobs.

The public schools argue that uniforms reduce the emphasis on appearance,
so that students are more focused on learning.

A nice idea. Like many of them, this works in theory only.

Just ask a Catholic school graduate how much time she spent circumventing
the dress code.

Now, some schools would like to start a new set of testing - mandatory
random drug testing. The school district in the tiny town of Tecumseh,
Okla., argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in March for random testing of
students engaged in extracurricular activities, including band or chess club.

In 1995, the court approved, by a 6-3 decision, drug testing of student
athletes, meant to reduce injuries. A decision is not expected until July,
and experts believe the same court is poised to favor extension of random
testing, which would have wide ramifications for the nation's public schools.

But the school district wants to test the wrong students. Trumpeters,
debate champions, Latin club presidents, and other achievers engaged in
extracurricular activities don't tend to be the students stoked in the
halls all day.

Frankly, if teachers can't already tell which kids are experiencing an
altered state of consciousness, they might want to consider a different
line of work. Kid looks out of it? Send him home or to detention.

And people wonder why there's a teacher shortage.

Simply put, drug testing should not be done in the schools.

It should be done at home.

It's not the school's job. It's not the teacher's problem. It's the
family's responsibility.