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Since the inception of No Child Left Behind, American Public Education has focused too much attention and resources on one type of assessment: testing. While it is an important step in the right direction for American public schools to have uniform, clearly defined expectations and benchmarks, in the rush to meet these expectations schools have lost focus on the ultimate role of education: to educate students to go out into the world as good communicators and critical thinkers armed with the mental abilities to not only succeed in, but to also change the world they are entering into. This responsibility demands that we treat each student as individuals, each with their own strengths, learning styles, and passions. The biggest challenge facing public education today is finding the proper balance between these two demands.

With teaching, everyday provides moments, both big and small, to influence the minds of our future leaders. Racism, gender bias, and other forms of prejudice and discrimination are societal ills that have been around, and will continue to be around for some time. They will not disappear overnight, but with enough concentrated effort we can create communities where everyone is truly equal. Politicians can pass as many bills as they want, but nothing will change if we do not change the hearts and minds of those people who will be in power someday; our students.
Such an effort to change society, I believe, must start in the classroom and work its way out into the world. By creating classrooms free of bias we model for our students the type of communities we ourselves aspire to live in; equitable, egalitarian, bias free communities where opportunities for everyone are truly equal.
As we forge forward into the maelstrom of standardized testing, we must remember people are individuals, not numbers, and individuals are not problems with one-size-fits-all- solutions.

Learn more about this author, Jason Berzow.
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