I got in trouble today for finally being honest about standardized testing.

I'm a paraprofessional in a title one school and I finally snapped today.<br><br>We had to sub for our teacher who was out sick and we have standardized testing coming up, so they gave us a powerpoint of the exact same "test taking strategies" we give every year. I've always given this powerpoint in the exact same monotone voice I used today.<br><br>But today, after slide 1, I stopped and said " Ok so this is the powerpoint we have to give you. You guys aren't stupid. You already know every single thing on here. You know how to take a test, you've been practicing for this one since kindergarten and you've taken dozens if not hundreds since." <br><br>Then I clicked to the next slide and read it aloud, before again stopping and saying " yeah, this is all stuff you already know. Its really insulting they think you don't know this already."<br><br>I continued this for a few more slides but these kids are boring as hell and there's only so many times you can say the same thing before you lose your audience. <br><br>After maybe the 5th time I said this, one of the kids ( a quiet little girl who is very smart) asked "Why do we have to take these tests if you know we already know this stuff?"<br><br>I finally stopped being a baby and told the truth and said "I don't think any of us really know. Or at least, I don't think there's a good reason. I think they want to make sure you know how to take a test, and how to be quiet and sit still for hours and answer the same questions over and over again, because in a few years that's what you'll be doing when you get a job and they want to make sure you can do it." <br><br>It was a rare moment where my students actually looked interested and I took the opportunity to say "You guys know I really hope you go to college, but if you don't, that's okay too. There are a lot of jobs that don't require a college education that pay really well. And if you do go to college, there are a lot of really cool jobs you can do that aren't just taking a test all day." <br><br>One of my coworkers was standing in the back helping a student while I was giving the powerpoint, and as soon as I said that, she got up and walked out of the room. I thought nothing of it, figuring she was just going to the bathroom, but when our teacher got back the next day, she said my coworker had told on me for being "unprofessional" and "making the test seem not important". <br><br>I got a verbal warning and I'm not really sure how bad that is or what the next steps are but I'm really hoping I don't get fired. I know I didn't do anything wrong.<br><br>Edit: Wow, this blew up fast. For those of you saying its not a big deal, in my school if you get two write-ups you can be let go without your support staff certification being paid for and if you get three you will not be considered for a position as a teacher at the district. <br><br>For those of you saying not to take this job, I really do love my job. I do get treated very well by the students and teachers and staff, and I do love the kids. <br><br>And for those saying I shouldn't have said what I said, I should have just given the powerpoint like I always do, that's a good point and I can see how it looks. At the time, I wasn't trying to be unprofessional, I was just trying to keep my class engaged. But I could have done that in a different way that didn't sound as negative towards the test.