red, white & blew me away

I don’t know what you call the standardized testing conducted in schools over your way, but we here in Virginia have the Standards Of Learning.  And trust me, the SOLs are a horse that has been bludgeoned by thousands more learned and articulate than I.   So not to worry, I ain’t a-going there.

I don’t pay so much attention, but I remember that “Symbols of America” or somesuch was covered last year in kindergarten, and this year they seem to be revisiting and expanding the theme.  The Statue of Liberty, Washington Monument, bald eagle, the flag, yada yada.

And because nothing gets your hard-working public educators giddy like a good SOL tie-in — looky see, our curriculum is pertinent and meaningful and useful! — each November the first-graders get to put on a Patriotic Program.  See?  It ties in to Veteran’s Day.  Do they do this where you are?

We had ours today.  70-some first-graders in patriotic garb, with accessories, singing songs like This Land Is Your Land and Yankee Doodle and You’re a Grand Old Flag and reciting this and that is pretty dang cute no matter what you think of standardized testing.

My favorite part of the evening’s performance was the synchronized camcording team:   a row of dads lined up against the wall, each standing at precisely the same angle, elbow cocked to wield the ‘corder, wearing the identical amused/proud grin.  I left my camera at home, more’s the pity, because that would have been SUCH a great shot.

Well, maybe, just maybe, that was only my second-favorite part of the performance.  Because Megs — my soft-spoken, cautious, hyper-aware girl — had been assigned the closing salutation of the evening.

She was excited about it at first, but then nervous:  “Mom, I think the teachers should have known that I am not someone who is comfortable talking in front of a lot of people I don’t know!”

Indeed, no.

And so I wouldn’t have given you very good odds on it, but I am here as your witness: her voice rang out in that gym loud and clear and cadenced, yes it did. And my heart got as big as the smile on my face.

She stuck it.   Yes, she did.  And she knew she did, and that was even better.

If only they had a confidence SOL to teach to.  A believe-in-yourself SOL.  Now, wouldn’t that be a curriculum we could all get behind?