British teacher groups decided to strike a blow in support of their students rather than adopting the American passivity in doing the right thing to support adult mistreatment of children by forcing them to take stupid tests. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the National Assembly of Head Teachers(NAHT) voted to boycott supervising the 11 plus test in order to send a message that a teacher’s first responsibility is for the rights and dignity of their children. In America, our President Obama in his never ceasing desire to prove there is nothing radical about his education views, continues to apply pressure for teachers to test children and, even worse, teach for the test.
Spokesmen for the NAHT emphasized “high risk tests have led to teaching for the test in the final year of primary school” and the result in dull education that has nothing to do with the lives of children. They also made clear tests like the SAT are ” a profligate waste of taxpayers’ money.”
When will American teacher groups stand up for the rights of teachers and students by urging a boycott of any such tests. Of course, they could also insist that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan take a test on how to teach children.