So you say you want a revolution?

The reform of urban schools can only be done from the top. One teacher can adjust their particular pedagogy and style of teaching to fit the needs of urban students, but this will not change the students' perception of what is important in school, and that is testing. It would be greatly beneficial to the children in urban schools to concentrate on learning rather than test scores. Standardized tests do not accurately portray a student's abilities and knowledge, only their testing competence. There are basic skills that must be taught and learned, but the true test of their learning is if they can take those basic skills outside the classroom and put them to use. Test scores do not translate to what they have been taught and learned in class. The test scores only represent what a student can do in a short period of time with outside pressures and expectations. Test taking is nerve raking for everyone and we should not judge a students abilities in life solely on test scores. It is more important that a student have learned to be an active participant in life and be able to find solutions to challenges that surely will arise. Teachers should no only have to focus on test material, but also teach the social skills nessary to work an interact with the public as well as work ethic. The classroom is a dynamic situation, your intended lessons are changed due to the needs of the children. "Schooling is living, not preparation for living. And living is a constant messing with problems that seem to resist solution." (Martin Haberman, The Pedagogy of Poverty Versus Good Teaching). The change that is most necessary in urban schools is to do away with standardized testing, or at least their meaningfullnes in the urabn schoo, which will lift the dark cloud of teachers, students and administrators heads. The focus of an urban educators should not be to make students pass a test, it should be to facilitate critical thinking and provide the opportunity to children to make a positive impact of the world and surrounding community. All to often a teacher must focus on standardized testing because administrators use it to gauge a teachers ability as well as the students. Neither one is an accurate representation of the learning process. Testing only shows how well a child can remember what they have learned throughout the year. If the lesson was taught and then the test was given, many more students would know how to approach the test question and get the right answer. In order for the "Pedagogy of Poverty" to be reformed, we must take the emphasis off of grades and test scores and realize that just as students do not all learn in the same way, and they should not all be tested in the same way. The lessened pressure on teachers will allow them to do their job better and the expectations for students will change from cutting the grade to actively participating in genuine learning activities.