Yes, There Is a PROFESSIONAL Rebuttal to Standardistos

Susan Notes:

Longtime educator and standardized test resister Don Perl, who leads the Coalition for Better Education, gave a presentation on the brutal harms of high stakes standardized testing to a group of aspiring teachers. Read what happened. Be inspired by the message that teachers don't have to follow Standardisto orders. Their code of ethics give them a higher calling.

by Don Perl

The most notable incident occurred toward the end of the presentation when a teacher from his seat in the front row posed this question: "These young teachers are going to be told to follow orders. Administrators are going to say, 'You do as your told.' Then there are no questions asked. They must simply follow orders."

I took a moment to swallow my wrath, and then said, "We have a code of ethics as professionals, and if an administrator asks us to do something to violate our code of ethics we can simply request that he/she sign this simple statement that acknowledges that the teacher is being told to violate a professional code of ethics which accentuates the importance of the individual child in the educational process."

The questioner, with more than thirty years experience in the field, put his head down and mumbled, "I never thought of that."

Let us shout it out that high stakes standardized testing violates our professional code of ethics. . . . and let us be sure to add the importance of young teachers organizing to speak as one voice on issues of ethics. None of these young professionals should have to be alone.

— Don Perl
speech

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