Posted on 11/07/2006 12:15:26 AM PST by Antioch
Nine year-old Tyler Stoken, a student in the Aberdeen Public School District, didn't know how to answer an essay question on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning test. As punishment for leaving the question blank his principal suspended him for five days.
Tyler paraphrases the question saying, "You look out one day at school and see your principal flying by a window. In several paragraphs write what happens next." He's asked, "So why didn't you answer that question?" He says, "I couldn't think of what to write the essay without making fun of the principal."
He refused to answer the question even after his mother was called to the school. Tyler's mother Amy Wolfe says, "And he said he didn't know the answer. He just didn't know what to write. And they were telling me to make him answer the question."
He still didn't, so Tyler was given a 5-day suspension. In the letter that went home to mother, the principal writes, "The fact that Tyler chose to simply refuse to work on the WASL after many reasonable requests is none other than blatant defiance and insubordination." Shortly after receiving the suspension letter they received a phone call from Superintendent Marty Kay apologizing for the suspension.
"Because I think a mistake was made and over reacting to Tyler's refusal to complete the test," said Aberdeen school superintendent Marty Kay. ... The superintendent wants Tyler immediately re-instated at school. But Tyler’s mother says the damage has been done. Mom tells son, "Well, nobody will scream at you again. I promise you that." Tyler doesn't want to go to that school any more and you can't blame him. He was manipulated and then punished because he couldn't answer a test question.
WASL opponents also believe the principal and teachers broke the law by interfering with the WASL test. It had better have been a violation of the testing rules. If a teacher and principal browbeating a test taker into answering a question in any particular manner is not against the rules then the test is worse than useless.
That's cause Daddy just threw him off the roof......
People around here are somehow fooled into thinking that education is for the students, instead of for the good of the collective... Oh wait... Getting a failing grade not enough for you?
Not to write IS making a choice. What if the kid was asked to describe why Bush is destroying the world or why Christianity is a silly religion -- should he have been forced to answer that?
A 9 year old (at least most) is not developed enough to think abstractly and so if he has been brought up to respect his principal then to him that would not be right. My mom told me if a teacher asked me to do something that was wrong that I should just tell him or her I would not do it. That's a lesson I teach my kids today. Oh, and I am a trained educator with years of experience.
Thanks, heard all of that before.
We'll just have to agree to disagree.
Good luck.
Taking a kid to another state!!! Over a test??? Is this a joke?
And what's wrong with this test??
The Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) is a standards-based assessment
The test is used in the state of Washington. Students in third through eighth grade, in Washington's public schools take the WASL reading and mathematics sections. In addition, fifth and eighth graders are required to take the science section, and fourth and seventh graders also take the writing section. Tenth graders are tested in all four sections. For the Class of 2008 and beyond, the WASL is a graduation requirement.
To me it sounds like a kid perceptive enough to realize he is surrounded by a$$h0les.
Failure is appropriate. Suspension is an overreaction.
Who wrote this? A third-grader?
I should have added Molly that PARENTS are responsible for their children and parenting begins at home.
If the children are in a school that is not suitable; it is up to the parents to change it.
I question the mental faculties of a principal whom would accuse a 9-year old of "blatant...insubordination." This is not a military facility dealing with an unpatriotic soldier, this is a school, and this is a child. Far too many of these defectives run our schools, and that is frightening.
The truth is the test scores reflect on the school as much as they do the kid. The principle was acting in his own self interest in trying to make the school look better ahead of the interest of the child.
Sounds like the principal thought he was a superhero and wanted to hear nothing but praise from the kid.
The highest intelligence is being able to recognize a nonsense question -- and not answer it.
>>The highest intelligence is being able to recognize a nonsense question -- and not answer it.<<
I probably would have gotten suspended either way - I don't think I could have answered that in a way that would not have caused trouble.
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