11 May 2011

t.g.f.t. (thank God for tests)

My AP lang teacher gave us an article one time about learning things by taking a test. We all thought he was ridiculous. How can you learn from a test?
Today I learned (ha - that one was not even intentional) how to learn from a test. Today I was writing an essay about a feminist who fought for child labor rights in the 1910s. And even though I was taking a test, the speech she wrote was so compelling and it really made me think. Usually us kids, we don't have time to sit and ponder questions when we have 2 hours to write 3 essays. But I thought it was interesting. She was talking to women at a convention and she brought up the issue of children in the workforce. She said that the kids would work while we sleep to make clothes and furnishings for the adults. Little 6-year-olds were in charge of working large looms and machines. They were pulled out of school.
A lot of times people will say that they wish they lived "back then" because it was simpler, or because those were the "glory days". But I think I would live right now. I know, there are flaws in our world today, as we had to point out in another essay, but I would not have it another way. Imagine living in another time period without phones or even computers. Some of you probably did - I know I lived without a computer for a while until I discovered the PBS Kids website at age 7 - but now I can't imagine anything without them.
So thank you, test, for helping me remember what I am thankful for - this wacky, quirky, fun, complex society we live in.

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