Students attending classes and going about their day may have noticed something different over the past few weeks. Every Friday, several teachers can be seen wearing red t-shirts with the words ‘Just let us teach’ on them.

According to Ms. Eubanks, English III Honors and SAT Prep teacher, the shirts idea came from the Pinellas County Teachers Association (PCTA). Ms. Eubanks said the goal is to “send a clear message to the lawmakers, the legislature, and the governor that they’re testing too much, and it’s causing undue stress to teachers, students, schools, and everybody.”

Ms. Alvarez, who teaches Honors and AP Chemistry, says she also supports the campaign because “the Florida legislature’s decision to require students to take all of these tests is not based on educational research nor on the advice of educators. Students are under a lot of pressure to pass, not just one test, but many tests in order to graduate.” Ms. Alvarez added, “As teachers, we want the best for our students. We want our students to be successful. We want our students to learn, and there is more to learning than just taking a test. We do not want our students to be stressed.” However, Ms. Alvarez emphasized that she does not have a problem with the concept of standardized testing, but she does object to “the number of tests that students are required to take.”

According to a flyer for the campaign distributed to teachers, the shirts say, “We are united in our commitment to take back our profession. We have had enough of the corporate model reforms that are destroying Public Education and hurting our kids.” The PCTA hopes to eventually expand this campaign statewide by working with teachers’ unions all across the state; the group plans to maintain the shirts’ usage until the end of the year at least. PCTA President Michael Gandolfo said the idea for the shirt came from his visits to schools and discussion with teachers; Gandolfo said the issue of over-testing was the most common complainant.

“We’ve got elementary students that are not getting to be kids” because of over-testing, Gandolfo explained. “They [teachers] just want to do what teachers have always done: teach.” When asked how citizens could get their voice heard on this issue, Gandolfo responded, “I think every citizen should write or e-mail their representative, and tell them we’ve had enough of the testing.”