Can I have a calculator?

Ok, Ok, I know it has been way too long since I posted. Life gets in the way sometimes and well.... the month of March is coming to a close, the students are ready for spring break, and PSSA is awaiting our return. Whoopee!! I can't get over how much testing is done and how little actual learning for the sake of learning is actually accomplished. It fascinates me to observe the rhetoric of the "standards" vs. the "reality" of the task. Most teaching is postscripted with teaching to the test. Teachers cannot take the time to find out if their students really comprehend a concept, however, if that concept will be found on the PSSA they can preview it, review it, overview it, subview it, and any other type of view that will enable the student to be able to "do" it when they see it on the test. Other concepts be damned! In the school in which I work, one of the most frustrating aspects is the use of calculators. Students can no longer add or subtract without their fingers, multiply or divide without calculators, and lack the basic skills to comprehend word problems. Where are the basics? How do you build a house without a foundation? When they come to me for help, as they often do, they know that I do not allow calculators to be used. Isn't it sad when 6th graders cannot add a plus 1 or 2 without using their fingers? Have no idea how much 7 times 6 is? Or even the concept of doubles (8 plus 8)? This is universal, not just the ELL students, which is why I feel so frustrated!! Then, there is the PSSA, which allows me to read the information regarding the math portion, but not the reading section. So when the state is looking at the scores to see how our school has fared, will they actually take into consideration the fact that my students read at least two grade levels below where they are being tested, and that some of them read at lower levels than that? I know that we are all in the mindset of fixing health care, and rightfully so, but somebody better help us fix our educational system.