Fresh Air Pep Rally

Monday was the PSSA pep-rally at Claire's school. Pennsylvania Standardized Something Assessment. This is freak-out time for school districts. Test scores mean everything so make sure your kid goes to bed early, has protein for breakfast, remembers everything that's been drilled into them for the past 6 months.


How about a massage? (for the teachers...)


"So, we had a PSSA test-taking pep rally, Mom. All the 5th graders were in room 300. It was easily over 200 people. And Mrs. Smith kept asking us to be quiet and respectful to the class representatives who were playing some kind of Jeopardy game. The rest of us were supposed to sit and watch. Quietly. For like an hour and a half."
" A pep rally? I said, "For the tests?!"
"It was a little weird."
"Why not go out and run around outside for an hour and a half? Why not get some fresh air, move your bodies?!! God, I hate it."
"Mom, don't get yourself upset. It was fine."
"It's absurd, Claire. The whole shooting match. Kids stuck inside all day, filling out the right circle, teachers stressed from day one over this test. How about a pep rally with running and jumping? How about a fresh air pep rally?"
"Mom, calm down. Really. Thankfully I was sitting next to Giana. At one point we looked at each other during the Jeopardy thing and whispered, this is kind of awkward, don't you think?"

Shine Your Light

Day #3 of subbing for Mrs. P, who as it turns out, has pneumonia. The poor woman had come in today and realized that she was terribly sick and went home. It might be sheer exhaustion after eight months with kids who never stop talking that's driven her to bed. Or, all the testing and workbooks...or kids blowing their noses and coughing and putting their fingers everywhere.

It occurred to me that it could be the classroom that's making her sick. How do I say this? It's a cluttered room; piles of papers everywhere, the walls plastered with grammar posters and weather charts, windows covered with kids' work, blocking the natural light. Congested is the word that came to mind this morning when I walked in. I crawled over some piles and cracked a few windows.

As for me, this subbing thing feels like I'm running a 5K with my workouts consisting of very short walks to the end of my driveway and back. I am really out of shape when it comes to the institutional insanity of public education. When I passed the hall mirror earlier, I had that deer in the headlights look. You all know what I'm talking about.

I need my bed and a book; the perfect marriage. So, let me finish this piece with how my day started...

As I was heading out this morning, Dad hugged me and said," Just go and shine your light, kid. That's all you have to do."

(ps. I hope Mrs. P turns off her phone, and allows herself to rest, and then rest some more.)