WHY DON’T YOU JUST SHUT UP, MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS AND STOP TELLING US HOW TO LIVE OUR LIVES. I’M PROUD TO LIVE IN GILMER COUNTY, GEORGIA, USA!!!!!

@Mbaker — I understand the dilemma, I guess, but to say they’re not even sure MLK will be addressed in school on Monday? No one teaches to a test for an entire school day. It smacks of deliberate disrespect to me.

@Astiles — Some holidays are sacred. Like, there would be an uproar if kids were forced to go to school on Christmas Day. Or in some states, if Yom Kippur wasn’t observed as an all-school holiday. The fact that a holiday that’s been in observance for a few decades is being glossed over – and won’t even necessarily be discussed in the classroom – is utterly disrespectful, particularly since it is the home state of Martin Luther King. Try sending the kids to school on Good Friday and see what happens when you talk argue in favor of AYP.

My only input, as a teacher who feels the pressure every. single. day. to push my students’ scores up on the standardized finals because my job could eventually depend on them, I would say that you need to realize how important these end of semester tests are now. They count 20% of each student’s final grade. You can plan to take one-day off, but ‘down in these parts’, most states only require the districts to build in three snowdays, if that. I’m sure you know that we just got hammered by a huge storm. Granted, I know we Southerners are quick to hunker down and buy out the local grocery stores, but regardless, we had to cancel school for way too many days. These tests are so incredibly important in the education world–I know of numerous teachers who have had their job on the line simply because their students haven’t done well on these tests. They speak directly to the teacher and the school, which as another poster pointed out, effects AYP which effects funding. You might find it offensive to have school on MLK Day, but many find it necessary. Many parents down here are going to complain that we don’t push the exams back so the kids can re-review. Students have scholarship opportunities from scores on this test. Many students’ GPA are riding on their results of one test, which has caused problems with college admissions. No, it’s not an ideal situation, but I find it necessary. And as for fitting in some MLK discussions, due to standard requirements in my state and the amount of days we are in class for a semester long class, I have about 2.5 periods (an hour and a half each) to teach about the entire Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. plays a huge part in that, but we simply don’t have time to go into much depth. (And its not just the CRM that gets cut short–I cover the entire American Revolution/Writing of the Dec. and Constitution/Roles and Responsibilities of Government in 3 days.) The problem isn’t the administration–the problem is the calendar and the unrealistic and drastic emphasis put on these finals by the state.