#EvaluateThat is a meme (because I can’t come up with a better word) that’s been going around Twitter and Facebook lately. I noticed it both places but really thought about it when Valerie Strauss highlighted it for The Washington Post.
On the whole, I like Strauss’s piece. Most of what she’s highlighting goes beyond what is typically expected of teachers without being absurd. I believe these stories should be told and told often. Not only because people outside of education need to understand our realities, but more importantly because these stories are about kids.
Too often everything we talk about when it comes to education is about the content. That may be about teacher qualifications – how well teachers are prepared for the content – or standards (be that CCSS or some others) and standardized tests. Our conversations about education show what we value. It isn’t pretty. These stories are all about the students. These conversations put our values where they belong.
On the downside, #EvaluateThat seems to be almost a competition for some teachers. A chance to show off how much more than do than anyone else. That part of it saddens me a bit. But the positives outweigh the problems. So I’ll keep checking it out!
Cross-posted from jenorr.com.
