First Day of School

Today I found out that kids in Miami start school on this upcoming Monday. Remember when school started the day after labor day? The reason for such an early start is to make sure kids have time to prep for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. The results of the test determine the ability of students to advance or graduate. The grade the schools receive based on the cumulative average of student scores can affect community perception and a teacher’s or principal’s livelihood.

I remember when tests weren't such a big deal, personally or at a policy level. I don’t know if I was fortunate enough to be a good test taker or am the genius that mom and dad and the great State of California declared me to be at the age of 9, but the test was never particularly challenging. Whereas, today the test is used to test minimum proficiency, when I was a kid it was to identify the "exceptional" and the "special" kids. At that time there wasn’t much difference. Both the exceptional and special had separate reading groups and got to get out of class for workshops. The difference was that the workshop for the exceptionals involved computer games and reading books meant for 7th graders and the special kids... well I don't know what they did, maybe it involved flash cards.

After taking the test in the 5th grade all the exceptional kids were put in the same class. It is funny how that test set up the rest of my life. I was officially on track and everyone knew it. I didn't grow up in a particular affluent area and I am pretty sure that the junior high school and high schools I attended would probably fare a "C-" on the Florida scale, but that didn’t matter. The expectation of the exceptional guided the classes we took, the projects we undertook the resources allocated to our well being. One my very best friends and I had the exact same classes from 5th grade until we graduated high school with the exception of him taking french and I taking spanish class.

I recently friendstered the exceptionals and found that almost everyone had gone to a elite university, had an advanced degree, was fairly high career wise, and was not married. We were all yuppies. The one's I was able to connect with seem fairly happy. We are all approaching or have reach thirty and had no idea what was beyond that.

We all started school the tuesday after Labor Day and turned out pretty ok, but maybe that was because we were exceptional.



School on Aug. 8? Are they insane? [Miami Herald]