180 Days Response

My second Fischbowl post came from a blog entitled 180 Days. It describes how teachers have a hard time teaching everything they want and need to in such a short period of time. In high school I remember how we would spend 30 minutes on real learning and the rest would be spent doing busy work or chattering amongst ourselves. Teachers would also have to spend a large chunk of class trying to prepare us for standardized testing. Instead of teaching a subject in detail she would only be able to cover the basic material that we would be expected to know. If there is no depth to a subject do the students really learn anything at all or do they just memorize and regurgitate what they are told to? It's great that schools are being held responsible for the quality of their instruction but standardized tests are not able to show the strengths and skills of each individual. I don't think we need to lengthen the school year. Instead a single test should be administered to all the seniors in order for them to graduate. There can be a class devoted just to reviewing what would be necessary for it. That way the teachers would be able to teach their subjects just as well but without having to sacrifice quality for a standardized test.