Switching for math: 5th grade

[Anonymous]

Hello! Wondering if there's guidance or a policy in MCPS regarding switching classes for math. My child switched last year, but was assigned to his homeroom teacher this year. I'm worried that the transition to middle school will be even more challenging than it has to be if he had to go from having the same teacher all day to switching 5-7 times a day. Would love to hear your experience and/or if there's any sort of policy on this. It seems crazy to me that the county would think that's a good idea.

[Anonymous]

There’s no policy. Some schools have kids switch, others don’t. Middle school is a big transition regardless.

[Anonymous]

Would not worry about it at all.

[Anonymous]

More important he is in the correct math class than have practice changing rooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More important he is in the correct math class than have practice changing rooms.

If you ask to have him switch classes, he may well lose access to his proper placement. For example, my kid doesn’t switch for compacted math bc his teacher happens to handle that. If I insisted on the switch, he would be back in grade level math and super bored.

[Anonymous]

Changing classes in middle school comes with so many more challenges than just having a different teacher. Nothing in 5th grade ever fully prepares kids for it. They just have to learn on the fly, and understand that it’s an adjustment for everyone. Making sure he attends every possible orientation opportunity over the summer will be far more valuable than fussing about having math class with the teacher across the hall in 5th grade.

And my DD says her most valuable lesson was finally understanding that the shortest way isn’t always the fastest way. Some hallways or stairs get so crowded, they should be avoided at all costs. Most sixth graders have to learn all this the hard way, unless they have a friendly 7th or 8th grader to advise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Changing classes in middle school comes with so many more challenges than just having a different teacher. Nothing in 5th grade ever fully prepares kids for it. They just have to learn on the fly, and understand that it’s an adjustment for everyone. Making sure he attends every possible orientation opportunity over the summer will be far more valuable than fussing about having math class with the teacher across the hall in 5th grade.

And my DD says her most valuable lesson was finally understanding that the shortest way isn’t always the fastest way. Some hallways or stairs get so crowded, they should be avoided at all costs. Most sixth graders have to learn all this the hard way, unless they have a friendly 7th or 8th grader to advise.

Oh, and also learning to pack up efficiently at the end of class, while still making sure they know what the homework is. It took my DD (with inattentive ADHD and all the related deficiencies) almost two years to figure that one out.

[Anonymous]

That’s odd; I thought all MCPS had kids move around in 5th. On O’Hare kids have 3 different blocks and 3 different teachers for them, with different kids in each class. Not the same as middle school but at least gets them somewhat used to the transition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s odd; I thought all MCPS had kids move around in 5th. On O’Hare kids have 3 different blocks and 3 different teachers for them, with different kids in each class. Not the same as middle school but at least gets them somewhat used to the transition.

Oops weird auto correct. Should read in our MCPS ES …

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks for sharing your thoughts! PP - I agree. I think it's very odd. I've been in education for almost 20 years (not in MCPS), and I've never heard of giving kids zero preparation for the transition to middle school. At my previous school, kids were switching four times a day by this point. At the school before that, three times a day. It seems pretty logical that, if you can do something to help kids prepare...you do it. The degree to which math is being differentiated (very little) is not more useful than helping kids build the executive function skills that are so necessary to do well in middle school and high school.