TAKS

Growing up, I pitied my parents for their job choice. During the most beautiful months of the year, they buried themselves in receipts and W2's. The spring months were lost to the stress of tax season.

Now, I am facing my own TAKS season. In just three weeks, my students will take their reading TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) test. My life has been reduced to nothing but preparations. I am tutoring students four afternoons on weekdays and three hours on Saturdays. Any planning time I have during the day I fill with extra tutoring sessions. After school each day, my team and I create battle plans, divvying up students and targeting specific skills they must develop in the next three weeks. Planning for the actual teaching I am supposed to do must happen magically during the day, which means it waits till 5 or 5:30.

The stress is impacting everyone. Teachers are fighting hard to avoid taking sick days. Students are stressed and ill. Yesterday, I had trouble teaching because the students' coughing overpowered my own voice. By noon, 15 students at the school had left with fevers. Between illness and stress, I lie in bed tossing for most of the night. Last night I resorted to NyQuil.

And after this test is over, we start preparing for the math TAKS. So, like my parents, I sacrifice my spring to the all-consuming god of TAKS season. Alas.