Wednesday, August 3, 2011

I knew I liked him for a reason

Okay, so this is post is not going to be about my family, my children, my husband, or the blissful things that happen during the day . . . nope . . . this post is going to be about Matt Damon *sigh* and the most amazing and inspiring speech I have ever read, well, almost the most amazing speech, but it was inspiring.  It's really about teachers, but Matt is mentioned several times.

This past weekend, one of the most important marches on Washington took place.  It had nothing to do with race, religion, or money, it had to do with our educational system.  As an "almost there" teacher, this protest was/is very near and dear to my heart.  Matt Damon, who I have had a "slight" crush on him since his Goodwill Hunting days, gave a glorious speech defending teachers and denouncing the use of standardized testing.  "My teachers were EMPOWERED to teach me. Their time wasn’t taken up with a bunch of test prep — this silly drill and kill nonsense that any serious person knows doesn’t promote real learning." (Damon, M. 2011)

Since the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act, the only things that have happened is our children being left behind, and our teachers being blamed for it.  If you are not familiar with the NCLBA, it was the start of the "standardized testing" that every school is required to do.  Funding for each school is based on the outcome of these tests.  School does not do well, they do not get enough money, teachers are blamed, and layoffs occur.  Needless to say, I am not a huge fan of NCLBA and an even less fan of standardized testing.  No child is standard, so no standard test should be used, in my opinion.  "No, my teachers were free to approach me and every other kid in that classroom like an individual puzzle. They took so much care in figuring out who we were and how to best make the lessons resonate with each of us. They were empowered to unlock our potential. They were allowed to be teachers." (Damon, M. 2011)  *Ahhh*, I could kiss him.

Anyways, I wanted to say how proud I am of our teachers fighting for their rights and for their student's rights.  I was super excited when I read that Matt Damon gave a speech at the rally and was pleased to be able to read his speech.  It was lovely and I encourage you all to google "Matt Damon defends teachers" to read his whole speech, or follow the link below.

Damon, M. 2011. Save Our Schools rally speech.  Retrived on August 3, 2011 from http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/entertainment/the_assistant/?p=5865

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