Testing forces unwanted changes

You recently had a wonderful article on the traveling exhibit "Lessons from Anne Frank". As an educator, I read with sadness the statement by Hilary Stipelman, program manager for the Anne Frank Center in New York City, "because of the pressures of standardized testing, many schools no longer are able to assign and discuss as many books." Because Anne Frank's diary is no longer a curriculum staple, "the traveling exhibit has helped introduce many students to Frank's story."

Although I am an educator of young children at an elementary school in the Northwest suburbs, I know that this statement is true as several teachers have commented to me that students are no longer allowed to engage in the reading of books, as it is not part of the "curriculum," and there is not time for that.

Sadly, now I know that this is a nationwide issue.

This factor, along with all the other stressors on children and teachers in this age of accountability and NCLB is turning our nation into one that can "bubble in" an answer on a test but one that does not get the opportunity or cognitive stimulation of reading and discussing a book, no matter what age you are in school.

Ellyn Brown

Schaumburg