How Does a Principal Dressing Up in a Pink Tutu Improve Education?
For once, let’s leave the testing atrocity out of the argument. Have these people just arrived from Mars? Haven’t they heard the alarming news that we are raising a nation of obese children? Why would anyone encourage children to think of junk food as a reward? For a school to do it in the name of education is unconscionable. Pep rallies, ice cream parties, motivational name it. When it comes to motivating students for the annual state achievement tests, schools go the extra mile. This week, throughout most of May and into June, students in the area will take most of the crucial Standards of Learning tests. And already, some school principals are jumping in with some creative – others might call it wacky – ideas on how to psych-up those test-takers. “Food does wonders,” said David Gaston, principal of Burbank Elementary School in Hampton. An ice cream sundae party in June is what Gaston has promised. The treat will go to the grade that wins a contest that requires students to use test-
