I am not the type of person to get depressed when I do not achieve perfection. Life is too short for that.
The most important thing that I learn from the state standardized testing is that I value my students' progress more than their test scores. While I am pleased with my students' perseverance and diligence to do well in the state test, I am especially proud of how they have matured at the end of the school year. When I gave out the state test results to them individually, I told each of them that I was proud of the tremendous efforts they had put in throughout the year. They have become more caring and compassionate towards one another. I wanted to help them be independent decision makers on making smart choices in their lives. Slowly but surely, they came to realized that although they had no control over what they learned in class, they have the power to make smart choices and encouraged others to do the same.
Yesterday, I happened to see their pictures on my camera, and I suddenly realized that I missed them so much. I am truly thankful to Allah SWT that the honor and privilege of educating these kids had been bestowed upon me.
If only the state test also measures every ounce of effort that teachers and students put into becoming lifelong learners.
