50 kids in a class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, yes. It's very important not to discuss changes in how the schools operate. That's the best way to improve the schools and prevent bad ideas from being replicated in other classrooms.

Nobody is saying it's not very important to discuss changes in schools. All we're saying is that we should a discussion based on accurate information.

Running hysterically to DCUM before doing a little research is not the right approach.

Fine. If you have the accurate information, please share it. If you choose not to, quit bitching about other people using inaccurate information.

[Anonymous]

Ok here's accurate information, from someone whose child went to Lafayette:

1. These teachers have always teamed for certain subjects, and the students moved back and forth between the two classrooms for different subjects, i.e., class A has reading with teacher A, then class A moves to class B and has math with teacher B and vice versa.

2. There are NO walls at Lafayette, just whatever random bookshelves, chalkboards, and filing cabinets teachers can find to use as a "barrier" between classes.

3. These two teachers removed the barriers between their rooms and now the kids don't have to line up and make multiple transitions in a day, don't have to worry about forgetting something in the other classroom, and don't have to try to listen to one lesson with the noise of 25 kids on the other side of the chalkboard doing something different.

Any questions??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, yes. It's very important not to discuss changes in how the schools operate. That's the best way to improve the schools and prevent bad ideas from being replicated in other classrooms.

Nobody is saying it's not very important to discuss changes in schools. All we're saying is that we should a discussion based on accurate information.

Running hysterically to DCUM before doing a little research is not the right approach.

Fine. If you have the accurate information, please share it. If you choose not to, quit bitching about other people using inaccurate information.

So, by your logic, if my kid's teacher said that all the kids need to wear purple clothes every day, it's preferable to post to DCUM rather than actually asking the teacher for an explanation first (and potentially solve the problem).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok here's accurate information, from someone whose child went to Lafayette:

1. These teachers have always teamed for certain subjects, and the students moved back and forth between the two classrooms for different subjects, i.e., class A has reading with teacher A, then class A moves to class B and has math with teacher B and vice versa.

2. There are NO walls at Lafayette, just whatever random bookshelves, chalkboards, and filing cabinets teachers can find to use as a "barrier" between classes.

3. These two teachers removed the barriers between their rooms and now the kids don't have to line up and make multiple transitions in a day, don't have to worry about forgetting something in the other classroom, and don't have to try to listen to one lesson with the noise of 25 kids on the other side of the chalkboard doing something different.

Any questions??

Thanks. Do you know what the second teacher will be doing when the other is teaching? Small group learning or admin activities?

[Anonymous]

For the past 5 or so years, I've found that running hysterically to DCUM is exactly the RIGHT thing to do. Beats the hell out of running hysterically anywhere else.

[Anonymous]

22:38: The teacher who is not teaching a lesson will be working with the other students in small group learning and/or helping kids who are working on their own. This time is not admin time or "break" for the 2nd teacher. It is team teaching in a new way and from what I understand, working out very well.

[Anonymous]

Isn't that distracting? Some kids are being lectured to and some kids are working on something else in the same room?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:22:38: The teacher who is not teaching a lesson will be working with the other students in small group learning and/or helping kids who are working on their own. This time is not admin time or "break" for the 2nd teacher. It is team teaching in a new way and from what I understand, working out very well.

Not true. I'm a NP parent in the class. As explained at BTSN, if there is one teacher lecturing at front, the second teacher will be in the back monitoring the kids and managing disruptions. So instead of the lecturer stopping mid-sentence to say "Johnny, please move up here away from Billy" the second teacher will quietly ask Johnny to move without the lecturer having to disturb the kids who are listening. They specifically said they felt this approach was better because a) it's quieter if only one teacher is lecturing at a time (since there weren't f-t-c walls between their classes) and b) because if a student is suppose to be listening in class it doesn't matter how many kids are in the room, and the lecturer doesn't have to stop for the kids who are actually paying attention. So, imho, it benefits children who are capable of following along, but it also helps the distracted kids because there is an eagle eye on them at all time. If they are working on break out groups, say in language arts or math, the class has the same ratio as the other classes 1:25. Ms. Jensen is teaching math, science, and social studies in the morning, and Ms. Yedwab is teaching language arts in the afternoon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:all i can say in reaction is....most of the educational research shows that small class size is the biggest predictor of student success. literally, the number of people in the room. not student/teacher ratio either. just the overall number. there was some magic number that predicted success. i think it was 14. so 1 teacher and 13 students was actually better than 2 teachers and 14 students, for example.

interesting stuff.

that's actually not accurate. what the research shows is that class size does not make a significant difference until you get down to very low numbers like 15 or so. but it also shows that it is not a magic bullet. teachers can teach larger classes successfully too. that is the case in many asian countries where the countries have decided that stronger teachers a better investment than small class size (which is very expensive). i would certainly rather have my child in a class of 15 with a really strong teacher than a class of 15 with a mediocre teacher.

[Anonymous]

There were 52 kids in my combined 4/5/6 grade class and two teachers. We were fine.

[Anonymous]

My child is in this class & there is no barrier removed to make it one large room. It is a room set up originally to house 25 children, now containing 50 kids, eight of whom have to sit on the floor everyday.

A half wall separating classrooms with square footage sufficient to accommodate the class size is hugely different than the situation these children are in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:22:38: The teacher who is not teaching a lesson will be working with the other students in small group learning and/or helping kids who are working on their own. This time is not admin time or "break" for the 2nd teacher. It is team teaching in a new way and from what I understand, working out very well.

Not true. I'm a NP parent in the class. As explained at BTSN, if there is one teacher lecturing at front, the second teacher will be in the back monitoring the kids and managing disruptions. So instead of the lecturer stopping mid-sentence to say "Johnny, please move up here away from Billy" the second teacher will quietly ask Johnny to move without the lecturer having to disturb the kids who are listening. They specifically said they felt this approach was better because a) it's quieter if only one teacher is lecturing at a time (since there weren't f-t-c walls between their classes) and b) because if a student is suppose to be listening in class it doesn't matter how many kids are in the room, and the lecturer doesn't have to stop for the kids who are actually paying attention. So, imho, it benefits children who are capable of following along, but it also helps the distracted kids because there is an eagle eye on them at all time. If they are working on break out groups, say in language arts or math, the class has the same ratio as the other classes 1:25. Ms. Jensen is teaching math, science, and social studies in the morning, and Ms. Yedwab is teaching language arts in the afternoon.

That's not about pedagogy; that's about crowd control (which is, unsurprisingly, more of an issue in an overcrowded 50-kid classroom than in a 25 kid classroom). And it certainly doesn't take a second credentialed teacher to perform the crowd control function.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That's not about pedagogy; that's about crowd control (which is, unsurprisingly, more of an issue in an overcrowded 50-kid classroom than in a 25 kid classroom). And it certainly doesn't take a second credentialed teacher to perform the crowd control function.

Exactly. I'm shocked that DCPS would allow it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That's not about pedagogy; that's about crowd control (which is, unsurprisingly, more of an issue in an overcrowded 50-kid classroom than in a 25 kid classroom). And it certainly doesn't take a second credentialed teacher to perform the crowd control function.

Exactly. I'm shocked that DCPS would allow it.

Of course you are. Until it's not working with these outstanding teachers (one of whom won an award last year for her DC Theater Cafe), then I'll judge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That's not about pedagogy; that's about crowd control (which is, unsurprisingly, more of an issue in an overcrowded 50-kid classroom than in a 25 kid classroom). And it certainly doesn't take a second credentialed teacher to perform the crowd control function.

Exactly. I'm shocked that DCPS would allow it.

Of course you are. Until it's not working with these outstanding teachers (one of whom won an award last year for her DC Theater Cafe), then I'll judge.

Ç

DCUM has rendered its collective judgment. Unfortunately, this teaching arrangement has been deemed unacceptable. The case is remanded to the school who must work out a new arrangement within 30 days.

OP, please report back to DCUm on Oct. 4 with a plan to teach our children well in a manner that fits within DCUM guidelines.