Jury Duty

I had jury duty Monday.  I dread being picked.  I don't want to sit there being questioned.  I hate the whole process.

One of the things I did find interesting was that the judge said that our jobs were not an excuse to get out of jury duty but he did make an exception to that rule.

He allowed medical people to be excused and teachers during the STAAR test (our state assessment).  At first I was super excited!  Being an educator would mean I got to get out of jury duty but then he clarified.... Since it was STAAR test time we weren't being excused.

Then I got a little irritated.  Not because I had to keep sitting there going through the process but because that's what the STAAR test has become.

Not only do students and educators dread it but now a judge of the courts thinks it's so important that an educator can get excused from jury duty because of it.

That's where we are in life now.  A standardized test has been made so important not only in education but out in the world too.

I agree there does have to be some standards.  We do need to know we are teaching our students what they need to know.  But all this standardize testing has just become one big monster.