Kids are learning a test-prep version of Row, Row, Row Your Boat, writes Patti Hartigan, who got the lyrics from Ed Miller of the Alliance For Childhood.
Take, take, take your test
Follow all the rules
Go to bed and get some rest
Eat some good brain food.
Keep, keep, keep your desk
A neat and tidy spot
Wear smart clothes so you don’t feel
Too cold or too hot.
Bub, bub, bubble in
Answers carefully
Do the easy problems first
And hard ones finally.
It goes on.
Allegedly, a kindergartener told her after-school teacher the class was supposed to memorize the song. I have my doubts since No Child Left Behind requires testing third graders; some states test second graders but none that I know of require standardized tests in first grade much less in kindergarten. This could be a hoax, but it’s probably a real song written for test-age elementary students.