Monday, January 21, 2008

testing creativity

I spent a glorious Saturday with the husband wondering through museums. As we made our way through an exhibit on the Wright brothers I was struck by this quote:

We were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interests; to investigate whatever aroused curiosity. In a different kind of environment, our curiosity might have been nipped long before it could have borne fruit.
~Orville Wright

The exhibit discussed how the Wright Brothers were not considered intellectuals or scholars in physics. They were mere bike repair men who continued to observe, test theories, and alter their plans little by little to make their dream happen.

They might not have tested well under today's standards of NCLB but where would we be without their curiosity?

One of my favorite t-shirts says,
Mississippi. Last in literacy. First in Pulitzer Prizes.

What do we want these tests to measure?

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