In any line of work or study, the people you surround yourself with strongly influence how happy you are going to be. Luckily for me, I landed in an incredible community filled with families that feel as passionately and think as deeply about quality education as I do. Rochester won’t stay a well-kept secret for long if others find out how committed to learning, success, and–most important of all–balance we are around here.
And when I think of these qualities, I think of Pam Sherman, who I’ve known as a client and a friend for most of my short life here in the Flour City. Over the years, we’ve had many opportunities to debate the role and relevance of standardized tests. Pam, a Renaissance woman whose bio includes attorney, actor, and international speaker, doesn’t exactly love tests like the SAT and ACT:
As my daughter, and my son before her, have traversed the world of standardized testing for college admissions, I couldn’t help but think back to my experience taking those dreaded tests. Here’s what I remember: I hated them. I hated preparing for them. I hated taking them. And I hated what they represented: that my future success in life would be determined by a Scantron.
Despite approaching the tests with such strong convictions, Pam was open to my own observations on their purpose and power. And since she is also the columnist known as the Suburban Outlaw at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, you can see what we’ve discussed in this week’s column, Putting standardized tests to the test. Be sure to join the discussion!
Mike Bergin