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Schools and Education General Discussion
Portable Classrooms
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Anonymous
| Yes, I know they are everywhere. I also know that you have no say if your kid is in one of these "learning cottages" as I've heard them called. I'm just curious to hear from any parents who have/have had a child spend a school year in a portable. Pros/Cons? Did everything work out fine, did you encounter any problems that lasted throughout the school year? What about from a teacher's perspective? How does teaching in a portable classroom impact you? |
Anonymous
| From a teacher- portables are great. I can turn the heat/a/c on/off/up/down anytime I want. Might not seem like a big thing, but when you have 25 sweaty 5th graders...it is! you laugh but it is true! |
Anonymous
| I taught in a portable in Frederick during the time of the Malvo sniper shootings. We were on lockdown with no bathrooms. Finally a system was worked out with parent volunteers and walkie-talkies. Not sure what kind of protection that would have given us though. Other than that incident it was great. It made outside lessons easier to accomplish as well. |
Anonymous
| To the teachers who teach in portable classrooms - What do you do for storage? Did you purchase a bunch of shelves? With a large class of 5th grade students, you probably don't have room for much more than desks. Where do you keep everything? |
Anonymous
| My kids will unfortunately spend two years in portables in their elementary school. My biggest concern is about the health of the portables. Are there health issues related to trailers? |
Anonymous
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I taught in a portable classroom one year and didn't mind it. It was like having our own little "cottage" outside. Really, it was, I'm not trying to put a positive spin on it. It was quiet, we could focus. There were plenty of other portables out tere, I never felt we were really isolated from others. For a few weeks they didn't have the speakers set up properly so we couldn't communicate with the front office, that was a drag. No, there wasn't all that much storage. There was enough for immediate needs; I had to keep the rest of my years of resources at home. I didn't have a computer at that time; don't know if portables have them now. We were not in a high crime area, so theft wasn't a big concern.
I wouldn't want to spend every year in such a classroom, but it wasn't that bad. If I were looking for a new job, I would look for a great staff and principal, first... and prioritize them over the type of classroom I'd be teaching in. Same goes for choosing a school for my kids. |
Anonymous
| Grew up in CA in the 1970s where portables were the norm because school construction couldn't keep pace with new housing. Never a problem. And even as a student, I appreciated the individualized climate control aspect. In our HS's main building, some classrooms were clearly far away from the relevant thermostat. |
Anonymous
| To all of the teachers out there: What did you do on Instrumental Music day? I'm looking at a class size of 25/26 4th graders, the majority of which will most likely take music lessons. (We usually have all but just a few kids per class take lessons at our school). I have no idea how we (I'm team-teaching the inclusion with a special educator, so we'll have "stuff" for two teachers) are we going to fit the kids, much less 20 instruments (Cellos are big!). |
Anonymous
DIdn't you get the memo? Kids in tempos must all play the flute this year. 
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Anonymous
HaHa! We joked about this yesterday! The options will be the triangle, harmonica, and a select few may take flute lessons. |
Anonymous
| You all need to get those roof top storage things like folks use on top of their cars! Then students can upgrade to trumpets ... still no room for cellos I fear! |