A New Test

A big thanks to everyone who answered the poll… more on that next week!

For now, I digress to a few weeks ago when I was telling you about the preparations for my Michigan Teacher’s Basic Skills test. If you’ll remember I was a little frustrated to learn that a “basic” skill included the quadratic formula, Pythagorean Theorem and more mathematical tasks far beyond the reach of my puny art-centered, right-brained mind. These are all things that I have put out of my head in favor of reserving the space for things that I will use again in my lifetime: like an interactive, highly accurate map of my favorite store. (I swear that I could stock it in my sleep – wish someone would put that on a test!) Anyway, that’s all irrelevant to the bigger point that I am trying to make.

I showed up for the test a half hour before it started, at the first time that the doors were slated to be open to test-takers. To my complete surprise, about five hundred anxious testers were already in line ahead of me. I never imagined that I’d be testing with this many. We all filed through the doors, hearing again a warning (this was about the fifth time that we’d been told) to not bring a cellphone into the testing center. For those that had to park miles from their testing site and forgot to leave their phone in their car, people were on-hand at a special table that allowed them to check their phones. Then, we all filed into a hallway to begin looking up the classroom that corresponded with our testing identification number.

Then we waited.

Finally, eight o’clock and time for the test to begin when what should appear but a last-minute test-taker. He showed up, looking like he had a very rough night, still in his pajamas. His shirt was wrinkled, stained and with a vulgar saying too vile to mention. He slid into his seat with seconds to spare, only to finally figure out that he was in the wrong room. He left. But, in ten minutes he was back. He said that he couldn’t figure out the testing i.d. number/find your classroom system. Eventually, after disrupting us serious test-takers for about fifteen minutes, the administrator escorted him to the proper testing room.

More than an hour into the test we had another disruption. You guessed it… a cellphone rang. Not just any ring, but one of those rings that only cellphone owners with the most obnoxious taste in ringtones would pick. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The girl was upset when the testing administrator told her that she would have to leave, forfeiting her test. She explained again and again that she didn’t know she couldn’t have a phone. Right. I wondered how anyone could be so dense. She didn’t even have the common sense to turn it off. Even most movie-goers are smarter than this.

This left me to wonder… isn’t it more important that you are a decent (non vulgarity-wearing) person that can follow basic directions (like not bringing in a banned item) than one who knows how to find the length of the side of a right triangle? In my own opinion, its common decency, honesty and basic consideration that are the foundations of a good teacher.

I wish there was a test for that. I bet some people would have to start studying today.