Vito Perrone Sr. (1933–2011)

Vito Perrone Sr., former director of teacher education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, opposed standardized testing:

In Dr. Perrone’s view, which he disseminated for 40 years as a professor of education, first at the University of North Dakota and later at Harvard, the excessive use of such tests warped the education process, inhibited children’s natural interest in learning, caused teachers stress and prevented them from carrying out their real jobs: instilling in children a love of learning and teaching them the principles of citizenship in a democracy.

Vito Perrone Sr., Who Fought Standardized Tests, Dies at 78 (New York Times)

In 1998 he posed these questions:

What if our children and young people learn to read and write but don’t like to and don’t? What if they don’t read the newspapers and magazines, or can’t find beauty in a poem or love story? What if they don’t go as adults to artistic events, don’t listen to a broad range of music, aren’t optimistic about the world and their place in it, don’t notice the trees and the sunset, are indifferent to older citizens, don’t participate in politics or community life, and are physically and psychologically abusive to themselves?

And what if they leave us intolerant, lacking in respect for others who come from different racial and social backgrounds, speak another language, have different ideas or aspirations? Should any of this worry us?

Our Continuing Imperative: Education for Peace and Social Justice (Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue)