Today, March 12, 2013 is the day that all Californian high school students who have enough credits to be a 10th grader takes the CAHSEE. An exam that must be passed in order for a student to graduate.
The way this works is that if a student takes the test in 10th grade and do not pass, they have two more attempts in 11th and 12th grade respectively to pass the test. If they still fail the exam they will NOT be able to graduate regardless of passing grades in classes or the number of credits they have earned.
Almost all states (if not all) have some sort of exit exam to test the students knowledge in English and Math to make sure they have the basic skills needed to function as adults in society. There are rules in place that each student must follow in order to pass the test. Failure to follow these rules in its entirety results in a cancellation of all scores.
So, what kind of rules are there that teenagers must follow?
1. No cellphones, ipods, texting, computers or any other electronic devices.
2. No food or drink during the test.
3. No talking or cheating.
Yesterday, I had an activity where I asked my students what are the 3 things they do each day that takes up most of their time. Their response was the following.
1. We spend our time on our cellphones, ipods, texting, computers and other electronic devices.
2. We eat food and we drink!
3. We talk.
Hmmmmm.....so not only the questions on the test are challenging to students but just the rules on proper etiquette during the test is as equally challenging. My students have a habit of doing the very things daily that they cannot do during the graduation assessment exam.
Yesterday I dined with my boyfriend and my son at Hometown Buffet. Its like an Old Country Buffet or a Ryans. Anyway, my boyfriend and I chose to have water, while my son had soda. My boyfriend wanted to have a sip of my son's soda. My son wanted a sip of his water. Sounds like a win-win situation. However, as soon as my boyfriend took a sip, the waitress came over and told us that he violated a rule and would be force to pay $2.50 for that sip of soda. What? We already paid for the soda. Why does it matter who takes a sip?
Even after talking to the manager, we did not pay $2.50 for a sip of soda. Nor did we ever imagine that breaking their "rule" would cause such a fuss. No one took extra soda. He took a sip of my son's soda who wasn't even going to drink all of it. So what was the point?
The point is there are rules in this world in every institution regardless if they make sense to us or not. For my students, they MUST pass the exam they are taking today in order to graduate. Period. They must not violate any of the rules stated above or, I, like the waitress at the buffet yesterday (that we nicknamed Soda Police) will have to report them.
Checking a text message while waiting for others to finish the test or pulling out a phone to see what time it is may not seem like a big deal, but rules are rules. And for the next two days, I have to watch my students like a hawk, as if I'm the "soda police" And if anyone violates any of the rules, I must turn them in and their score will be terminated!
To get a free tip on how to deal with teenagers and to help them better understand the rules of life. Check out www.shiradillon.blogspot.com
Shira Dillon has a Master's degree in education and teaches high school in South Central, Los Angeles. With over 14 years of being in the classroom as a teacher, Ms. Dillon has gained the expertise of how to deal with hard to deal with teens. Her ability to relate to teenagers and form lasting relationships has been praised by administrators, teachers, parents, and teens. Ms. Dillon is the author of "Sex, Drugs, and Other Elephants: How To Deal With Teen Issues and organizes the FB fan page www.facebook.com/ParentsTeachersandTeens . She often consults parents as well as other teachers on how to deal with their teenager.
For questions or consultancy information contact Shira Dillon directly at shiradillon@gmail.com
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