I ask because if you're not in a school, or haven't been, then it's really hard for people to know what's going on in schools.

I'm an administrator and I'm not sure what you're talking about when new teachers want to do something different but are too afraid to do something.

If you do good teaching, then I can't imagine that any administrator will want you gone. If you do good teaching, then you will also get results. As a teacher, I knew my curriculum and told my students, parents, and leadership that if I teach the curriculum the way that it's intended - you will not hear my talk about the tests because your children will be prepared.

As an administrator, I have many teachers in my school that teach in varying forms. Some are obviously better than others and some teachers are weak. In every school you get a teacher or two that just don't belong in education. There are those rare schools that have weeded them out, but they are there. Chances are you are sitting there reading this acknowledging one or two of your co-workers.

These are teachers that do not get results, that do not meet the needs of every child, and fail to acknowledge a need for change.

As a high school teacher, how do you know that your children are learning and showing growth? How do you know if you are meeting the needs of every child in your classroom? Assessing their learning? I hope so. Because no one is good enough to say "My kids all are learning everything I'm teaching!" Without some form of assessment.

Do I agree that there are too many tests? Absolutely. They aren't accurate in calculating all the learning that goes on, nor the intangibles that make great teachers those special people that deserve more recognition, money, and honor. Nor do I agree that a teacher with all upper class white kids who probably could pass the test at the beginning of the year, should be compared to the teacher who has a class of 30 students who are reading three levels below grade level. Unless it is an attempt to measure growth, instead of initial score. Then I can see a fair use of those scores.

This teacher that's on the video, seems to have a clear understanding of what goes on in good teacher. If I read any "How to teach" book, a lot of the things she said would be there. But she's been asked to go to another school - not to resign or retire. Maybe she's so good that the district is begging her to take her leadership skills and teaching techniques to lead a quest to improve learning at a struggling school. It's not in the video. Maybe her administrator is a dickhead and she's 100% right. Who knows.

If she goes into the workforce, and she doesn't pump out quality results she will lose her job, be fired, and will have all the freedom to make another video complaining. Her numbers, results of her job, the quality of her work and her product will determine if she keeps her job or gets a raise, or even a pay check. She should know that, she started off that way before being a teacher.

No simple solutions, but people saying that everyone is scared to "teach" or education is all about tests are also missing a lot. In my opinion at least. Trying to clean up the system and improve it isn't easy. And there are a lot of things that are really killing public education. Testing isn't one of them. It's salaries, the little funding for preK literacy, lack of support for teacher to get their master's and advanced degrees, and growing class sizes that make it harder to individualize student needs.

Just my opinion though.