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solsc: testing 101 5/31


March Slice of Life Story Challenge 
hosted at the Two Writing Teachers
Join us for a month of writing!

It's quiet 
in this classroom
You'd think no one
was here
No learning conversations 
or laughing and sharing
It's filled with
the silence of
Mouths twitching
Chin rubbing
Head scratching
Nail biting
Feet tapping
Legs swinging
Fingers rapping
Eyes peering up
Smiles of reassurance
Pencils scribbling
Bubble filling
A thinking-hard 
kind of quiet
All trying 
their very best
to pass "the test"





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Comments

  1. BKMarch 5, 2013 at 6:51 AM

    ugh...powerful but so sad. I wish I could say something witty or positive but we are stuck with this heavy burden.
    Bonnie

    ReplyDelete
  2. JudyMarch 5, 2013 at 7:06 AM

    A stressful time for students and teachers. Hang in there and it will soon be completed. Your students will have done their best and passed the test! Love ya M

    ReplyDelete
  3. LynnMarch 5, 2013 at 8:17 AM

    You "painted" the picture of many rooms I'm sure! And you are right all we can do is give a smile of encouragement . . . I'll be glad when the test is done!

    ReplyDelete
  4. elsieMarch 5, 2013 at 9:12 AM

    Love the poem, hate the reason.

    ReplyDelete
  5. DanaMarch 5, 2013 at 9:38 AM

    The beginning made me sad - the idea of a quiet classroom where conversation and talking wasn't allowed. We have spent two weeks (!) giving ACCESS tests to our EL students. Two weeks. I just don't understand.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Terje March 5, 2013 at 10:15 AM

    I am glad the smiles of reassurance were on the list. When the test is over, the sounds of learning can return to the classroom.

    ReplyDelete
  7. ChrisMarch 5, 2013 at 11:17 AM

    I was happy to give lots of compliments to the 4th graders I proctored yesterday - they truly gave their best. Hope my clients are doing the same...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tara @ A Teaching LifeMarch 5, 2013 at 3:58 PM

    Sigh....it will be over soon, and you will return to normal....

    ReplyDelete
  9. Christy Rush-LevineMarch 5, 2013 at 5:48 PM

    I will think of this poem and find in it a reason to smile while my students jump from learning mode to testing mode this week. Sadly, knowing the pain of the experience is shared may be my only reason to smile at that moment. Well painted.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousMarch 5, 2013 at 6:37 PM

    All of the motion of stress and anxiety- mouths twitching, foot tapping, nail biting- I could picture them in my mind, and they all look the same as my students. And a smile of reassurance is all we can give at that moment. :(

    ReplyDelete
  11. Melanie MeehanMarch 5, 2013 at 7:26 PM

    I like Elsie's comment. Great poem! Depressing subject!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Laura KomosMarch 5, 2013 at 8:16 PM

    You really captured it well, Michelle! So sad, yet so real.

    ReplyDelete
  13. CarolMarch 5, 2013 at 10:25 PM

    This time of year again. Sigh. I especially love this line.
    A thinking-hard
    kind of quiet
    A perfect description!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Katherine SokolowskiMarch 6, 2013 at 6:19 AM

    Love this. I've been writing many different versions of a poem as I watch my kids during our state testing this week. Hope to have one finished today.

    ReplyDelete
  15. KarenMarch 6, 2013 at 6:36 AM

    What a great poem!! During testing, I truly miss those "learning conversations" as you aptly named them. Hope this week passes as painlessly as possible and next week finds you and your class immersed in new and wonderful learning conversations!

    ReplyDelete
  16. LoraleeAugust 6, 2013 at 4:35 PM

    You said so much in this poem.

    ReplyDelete

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