For the last year, I have been largely uninspired about teaching. I think I would be better suited to spend my days in a library or a museum archive. Chapter one of the Beers text did stir something inside of me, something I haven’t felt since I was a freshman.

I have always been more interested in the real life stories that are almost always overlooked in a textbook. I think of Derek, and how if he was given the opportunity to feel good about his achievement instead of being told that his improvement simply was not good enough, he might have been encouraged to continue learning. Collin was a unique story too. How often in high school do students question why they are learning things that they think they will never use? This attitude does nothing but hamper intellectual development. If Collin was given the opportunity to write something he cares about, he might have showed his teacher what he was actually capable of.

While still unsure if NCLB helps or hampers educational stimulation, I do realize that kids need to be taught in new and creative ways. By using kids’ interests, teachers might see a new side of what that child is capable of accomplishing, and not what test score deems as adequate. Personally, I am not a good test-taker and I know that to gauge my knowledge of a subject area, give me an essay test. If my teachers knew how to test me to see what I was actually capable of, I might have been given different opportunities in high school. Teachers need to have different ways to test the skills of their students. Only by doing so, can teachers realize the actual areas where students need to improve on their tests and address their interests at the same time.