State Testin'

One thing I've discovered that HCHS is lacking (among many other things) is a school spirit, a cohesion that unites the school. I guess that's corny and unrealistic, but I feel like the students, teachers, administrators have no common purpose. We're all there doing our own thing and no one really knows what anyone else is doing and really most don't care as long as it doesn't interfere with them and if it does, man, do you hear them complaining. I wish most of these kids came to school because they wanted to learn, and that most of the teachers came because they wanted to teach... but there is time of the year that the whole school seems to come together...
State tests were last week. Tues.-Thurs. we held classes, and after the test, the kids went wild in the gym, then they went to "classes" that involved activities like watching Scary Movie 4 and playing Madden (I admit, I am at fault, too). The whole freaking school year is centered on state tests. Students only go to tutorial for state-tested subjects, only care about doing work and studying for state-tested subjects, the two experienced (and actually good) math teachers are in one room together teaching state-tested Algebra I. I heard students complaining about teachers who did not teach to the test but taught from a book. What the hell is wrong with this picture? I understand the purpose of NCLB, and the state tests, but when has school only been about meeting the requirement of enough passing some test? These students have pressure on them, and the teachers and schools have it, too, and that's really their biggest concern. Perhaps it's just a dream to think of a school where the majority of the students are their to learn, and the state test are just one extra little test that can be taken with no thought of too many not passing, because the kids are already prepared and confident and ready to go.
On a different note, I gave the Algebra I test Friday. I was scared to death. I felt the weight of the school on me, and I knew I had to keep them silent and not let them cheat. But I got them quiet, and put them in alphabetical order, and did all that other test administering stuff, and it was the quietest class I have ever had. No one said a word. Of course they already know the pertinence of their test performance; the school has made that clear since the beginning of school. As I walked around the room for over 3 hours, I got bored and read some of the questions, figuring out the answer in my head, and checking it on student's answer sheets to see who had gotten that particular answer correct (of course making no sounds or gestures, just looking) and sadly, many of them hadn't gotten those correct. I hope they did well. And I hope the school can move forward, and that every test a student takes they will take as seriously as those state tests.