by Lina Acosta Sandaal, MA

<a href="http://reflections.thenestmiami.com/?attachment_id=310" rel="attachment wp-att-310"><img class="alignright wp-image-310" src="http://reflections.thenestmiami.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/High-Stakes-Testing-300x168.jpg" alt="High Stakes Testing" width="400" height="224" /></a>Midway through the third week of the public school year, parents are dealing with the pressure of “home learning” and hearing about mandated tests.   The Dade-County School board is also assessing and thinking this through.  The superintendent of schools wrote an opinion piece in the Miami Herald about the current debate on “high stakes testing”.  I enjoyed what he had to say and like his way of asking all of us to take multiple point of views into account.  However, he did not touch upon the piece that makes me get up in the morning to work 12 hour days, following my passion:  the necessity for our sons and daughters to have peace, growth and security in their emotional and social health.

The brain needs to be in a<!--more--> receptive state for optimal learning and to maintain the physiology of the person.  High stakes testing has created an atmosphere that induces a reactive state.  When the brain is reactive, it uses its primitive mechanisms to overcome that state.  Primitive responses turn on the "danger" response of flight, fight, freeze.  Too many teachers, preoccupied about whether test scores will result in a pink slip or a raise,  are anxious and in this danger/reactive response mode.  All children ages 0-17 take their cue of safety from the caregiver and at school the teacher is this secure base.  If the teacher is anxious, concerned and unavailable emotionally due to the strains and constraints of this system at our schools, the students become reactive, diminishing their ability to learn.  I have seen a 6-year-old gifted student with panic attacks (fight/flight).  I have seen teenagers with suicidal ideation (freeze) and substance use (flight/freeze) because they provide a way to deal with the work pressure and testing given at their schools.  My hope is that the district will take into account the mental and social health of their students.

There are signs of hope. There is an amazing movement in education to bring social emotional learning and mindfulness meditation to education. As parents we all need to be informed and ask our leaders to help our kids, and there are groups and organizations doing just that.  A good high school friend of mine is part of a Facebook group called  Opt-out Miami Dade County *  where you can find information and learn how to advocate for your children.   On the front of mindful meditation and education, the University of Miami will have a conference on Oct 8th ** bringing to the community their research.

At home let us take the advice of Superintendent Carvalho:

“Assessment of students should serve the strict purpose of informing instruction, not simply provide a variable into a teacher’s performance evaluation formula, as is the case of the new state-mandated, district-designed end-of-course K-12 exams.”

I urge all of us to inform ourselves and advocate for the emotional and social health of our children.

Carvalho Miami Herald- Opinion posted 9/2/14 Read more here: <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/09/02/4323758/carvalho-common-sense-on-student.html#storylink=cpy">http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/09/02/4323758/carvalho-common-sense-on-student.html#storylink=cpy</a>

*  Opt Out Miami-Dade County (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/OptOutMiamiDade/">https://www.facebook.com/groups/OptOutMiamiDade/</a>)

** University of Miami Mindfulness Conference(<a href="http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e9h4fpgg676c2e58&amp;llr=dkxnzblab">http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e9h4fpgg676c2e58&amp;llr=dkxnzblab</a>).

&nbsp;