The end of SOL season
There are two seasons in local schools: pre-SOL and post -SOL.
Pre-season is warm-ups, pre-tests, flashcards and pressure.
Post season, well, post-SOL season is bliss. Time for Science Fair and recitals and kicking back.
With all the tension surrounding the tests, and the relief of being done with it all, I sometimes forget about the test itself. Last week I volunteered at my son's elementary school during SOLs. I did it last year, too, and it is a fascinating event.
The instructions last about 25% of the testing time. The things you are to DO and NOT DO are complex and arcane. Teachers, who have spent the year helping and cajoling and coaching and preparing and caring - are struck mute.
"I can't help you with that" must come as a cold shock to a child who has had nothing but increasingly intense HELP for months.
My job, as volunteer, was to sit outside the door during testing to escort test-takers to the bathroom or nurse's office if needed. There was no need. I don't know if that was a drill they've been working on, too, or if their little bladders were too stressed to function.
I'm not a particular fan of these tests. My mother was an award-winning elementary school teacher and she would prefer teachers do what they do best: teach. But our teachers today have no choice in the matter, and they work hard to prepare students both for the materials and the rigors of hours-long testing. Unlike grades and SOLs, these are tests of the teachers and the schools more than of the students.
We're two down and one to go until my son's SOL season is over. In post-season, son, "I can help you with that."