EVERYTHING
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“One night, my 3-year-old asked me if she could sleep in my bed. I told her no. She said, “That’s not fair! Why does Daddy get to sleep in your bed?” READ MORE
Mother Knows Best
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My son is on “test overload.” A sophomore in high school, he had just exhaled from a grueling week of final exams when he was hit with another six hours of testing for the high school exit exam. In a few weeks, he’ll take the California Standardized Tests (CST), which will, after a computerized analysis of where his No. 2 pencil landed, determine how smart he is compared to other sophomores. Next is the PSAT test, which will prepare him for the upcoming, all-important SAT. In the middle of all of this, he’s studying to take his driver’s test: to him, the most important of them all. As a mom, I try to do all I can to support him. I make sure he doesn’t stay up too late the night before, and I see that he gets a full breakfast the morning of the test. I remind him to check his answers before turning in each exam. And I do what my mother always told me: Pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance. But I also offer him advice that his teachers probably prefer I didn’t. “Do your best,” I tell him, “but in the grand scheme of things, the results aren’t the most important thing in the world.” Sure your score on the CSTs determine whether or not you’re promoted to the next grade level. And I know that a high SAT opens doors to the college of choice. But there are plenty of people in the world who scored less than the 2003 average SAT score of 1,026, who lead productive, happy lives. And spending another year in grade school isn’t the worst thing that could happen. No matter the score, high or low, things always seem to work out and the time we both spend stressing over tests will seem silly years down the road. Besides, the most important tests are the ones you can’t study for. The ones that, like pop quizzes, require quick thinking and are the truest tests of what you know to be true. For example, a few weeks ago, my son was faced with a tough problem: whether or not to get into a car with a new driver who was not yet of legal age to drive others. Several of his friends opted to hop in and go cruising and held the door open for my son. My son shook his head and started to walk home. When they chided him, he turned around to face the ultimate test. “Come on,” they persisted. “No,” he stood firm. “Besides it being illegal, I don’t want to lose my parents’ trust.” Now that’s one smart kid. Senior Writer Kimberly A. Porrazzo can be reached at kporrazzo@churmmedia.com |
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