I Can't Force Them to Think

My frustration level is a little higher this year, for many reasons. The one I'm going to just mention today, as I've been bringing up in the last few posts, is Reading. Of course, you'd expect that - we are less than 3 weeks of school days away from the Dreaded and Horrible ELA (English Language Arts) test.  

I have such a hard time teaching my students test prep for a few reasons: 

1) Can we CRAM test prep down their throats Anymore? We may officially be going on 4 months now. I mean, how much is too much? In my opinion, we've long passed the line of too much... to the point that I don't recognize the reading teacher I used to be. I take it personally, yet I cannot control what is going on. Test prep is forced upon me. 

2) My students give up before the test prep reading is even handed to them. They already know what answer they are going to choose... without even reading the options (or the story). They have already mastered the fake reading... where they look blankly at the text and then, after a few moments, move on. No matter how many times we model, partner, attempt to hold students accountable with underlining and highlighting and written explanations of why the answer they chose are the best answer... it doesn't follow through into testing. These students are completely capable of finding the most basic answers in the text, but they don't care. It's not important to them. ... And WHO could blame them? 

I'm stuck in a hard spot (sounds familiar). I lack resources, time, and even energy to make the progress we are expected to see. Sadly, how can a student meet the standards on a reading test when they read far below the level expected, and it stems from years of falling behind? How can they be expected to do well on a reading test when they shut down as soon as they see it...? After years and years of having test prep taught as their reading, what more do we expect?When do we see that this has gone too far, that it's ruining any chance to make them readers? 

There are ways for students to get some of the answers correctly without thinking Too much... like using the text. It kills me when I lay it out in front of them, tell them the answer is under their nose, and they refuse to think enough to find the most basic answers. 

I am stuck in a teacher's hell, forcing the one thing on my students that tortures me most. I can't make them happy; I can't make me happy. Most of all, I'm frustrated that the students aren't thinking... and I feel helpless to waking up their minds... I feel out of control with the resources and requirements that have been thrown at me. 

I feel like I'm going to need many glasses of wine (in the evening of course) until this reading test is over. I am definitely counting down the days until I can Really teach reading, real reading.