Better way to respond to Federal Way schools than withdrawing support | Letter
Published 4:39 pm Thursday, January 30, 2014
If my car isn’t running well, shall I use a cheaper grade of gas until it improves its performance? If it is beginning to rust, shall I drive it through salt water then park it outside? Well, I’m not going to provide it with any support until it shapes up.
The score of a football game says it all, right? What happened on the field during those four quarters is irrelevant, correct? Or is the real game in the playing, in the efforts and interactions? Is the score just a numerical summary?
My doctor asks how I’m feeling. Then she tells me my test results. Is either information the sole basis for diagnosis and treatment? Taken together they will contribute to a good decision.
Growth during a school year cannot entirely be described by a test score, any more than the value of a marriage can be confined to a letter grade. Have we become a culture of punishment rather than support? Do we lose our individual sense of responsibility by joining the mob shouting negative statements?
There is a better way to respond to test scores, the grading system, school board behavior and a superintendent’s raise, than by withdrawing support from students.
It is not just graduation rates alone that matter – it is also the day after day experiences the students have once they enter the classrooms. It is the opportunities to learn and grow that are provided by a system able to honor the whole child. A vote for the levy is support for teaching and learning. It would be unreasonable to do otherwise.
Dana Turcott, Federal Way
