But Juniper, you may be asking… aren’t you helping students to game the system? Don’t you feel that you’re corrupting the value of the SAT as an accurate indicator of a student’s academic abilities? Aren’t you helping to change “the admissions process from a meritocracy into a marketplace” like they said in one of those NY Times articles you linked to?
Yes. I am doing all of those things.
BUT. I don’t feel guilty about it. After a couple of weeks, I’ve gotten to know my students pretty well and I start to feel… protective of them. Motherly (or big-sisterly) even. I don’t care if they out maneuver all the other kids out there. I WANT them to. To me, any school would be stupid not to want them. I want to do whatever I can to help them prove this.
At this point in the process, the SAT is now a giant game, a word puzzle, and a mind-teaser. It’s no more painful than the sort of crossword you’d bring on an airplane to pass the time. And I’ve the pony-tailed dork who stands on the sidelines cheering as my student knocks down one obstacles after another.
“Yes! Get that confusing f o g(x) problem! Don’t let that graph fool you! That’s it, take the middle answer, now solve, solve, solve and… score!”
“You’re better than that reading comprehension passage! Beat it into submission and reword the question! Yes, that’s right! It’s inane! You see how silly they are? Perfect answer!”
Ok, sometimes (frequently) my students are laughing AT me, not with me.
I guess I can’t wait for them to get to college. I loved it and I know they’ll love it. In between SAT questions, I’ll tell them about how they’ll get to live in a dorm, take road trips at 2am and eat Fruit Loops for lunch every day. Not to mention having your first class start at 11am… For most 17 year olds, that is the Best. News. they’ve ever heard.
1 comment:
i think that sounds like a great strategy - telling them how awesome and fun college will be. not that i'm surprised you have a good strategy - you're good at everything you do!
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