“As we become increasingly overwhelmed by information, we must work hard to decide which information we are going to use, and which information we are going to ignore” (Warlick, 2007). Students and educators are faced with the day-to-day question of what information is important and what can be placed on the back burner for the time being. We are already limited to what we can teach because of TEKS and standardized testing. Sometimes I feel like I’m teaching kids how to take a test rather than teaching them how the information pertains and is important to their lives. When students get into the real world, most employers will not make modifications or accommodations to job responsibilities because of how the student was classified with regards to learning in school. Sometimes I think we are putting too much emphasis on testing to make sure educators and students know what they are learning rather than how it can be applied to their life. When testing students, we have to make accommodations and modifications depending on their learning ability. If teachers were tested on their leadership knowledge and skills, would there be accommodations or modifications since teachers also learn in different ways? Who would decide what information would be on an assessment? Would this lead to standardized programs being used by technology leaders? What would happen to all the great technology that would never be used because it would be on the assessment? We need to stop being so concerned with passing a test and start worrying about whether our students are going to be able survive when they get out of school. “Rather than simply learning the basics of how to use a technology tool, teachers must learn how to use the tool to improve teaching and learning in their classrooms.” (Jones, 2007)
Jones, E. (2007). Strategies to put instruction ahead of technology. Principal Leadership, 7(6), 35-38.
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