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Anonymous wrote:Lorton Station is starting the process of departmentalizing grades 4-6 next year. Teachers will deliver content on subjects to entire grades.
I wonder if this is being directed by FCPS, with thoughts of implementing it across all elementary schools at some point.
Of course it is being directed from the top. The whole comprehensive boundary review is nothing but a ruse to keep the peasants occupied and fighting among themselves while the intellectual elite at Gatehouse do what they want behind the scenes.
Ok- many schools already do this. BUT, contrary to what the PP who wanted this for AAP, when it is done Math/science and LA/social studies are grouped together. The children also usually stay together and as a class switch teachers. If you have to regroup to meet the needs of every kid, you are going to not really have a home room and will change for every subject because some kids qualify for AAP in just one subject. Some schools already do this for SIXTH grade in elementary which makes sense as it is watered down middle school. It is not typically practice from 3-5 and it should not be. Developmentally those kids still need the steadiness of being with the same kids for most of the day.
A long long time ago in a far away place (different state) we were grouped and moved for each subject starting in 3rd grade. And we were with different kids for each subject based on strengths, and kids could be moved up and down at any time to meet their needs. Honestly, the first time I heard the fcps talking point of meeting every kid where they were at I assumed that meant some sort of movement up and down so that they could always be learning what they are ready for. Never expected to be told by a teacher based on kids fall iready she wouldn't be teaching them anything until February...
It worked because everyone was getting what they needed. Did we know which group was the smart group and which group was struggling? Yes, of course, and today's kids are smart enough to figure it out too in the current system. But, everyone was always in a group where they were being challenged to grow. And we were happy for kids when they moved up. And everyone knew what their stregnths and weaknesses were. And we could see that maybe one kid who struggled with language arts was a genius at math. And another kid who struggled with math was an amazing writer, etc. Instead of saying oh well you're not good at everything so you don't get the curriculum where you need it, we were all more likely to be exposed to a challenge in our strength.
My guess is someone will argue that this system didn't work for the bottom of the bottom, and I would be interested to see how the data compare these kids outcomes in the two systems.
+100
This is exactly what we had growing up and it worked great. I was an advanced LA kid but needed more help in math. So I went to the advanced LA class and then to the grade-level math class. There was a GT program that took a handful of kids from each school. 99% of the other kids just circulated in the different groups and moved up (or down) as needed, whenever needed. No one had to wait a YEAR to see if some test would give them access to a moderately accelerated curriculum in any subject. It was just there, for anyone who was able to do it.
The current system has complicated everything, in addition to excluding bright kids who would thrive with more advanced work. It’s disgraceful that a curriculum which is not even a “gifted” one, has been gate-kept from all of these other highly capable kids. A test score doesn’t determine who can do the work.
Interesting, it is like we can’t even get to a good answer because people are just bringing back “when I was in school”.
How did the kids not know you were dumb in math? or smart in social studies? Did you think that helped you, or that you were immune because you could say you were smart in LA?
It is like humanity can’t make progress because people can’t think beyond “when I was in school”.
Um, no one cared because most of the kids were also advanced in some subjects but not in all. Or “dumb,” as you so charmingly put it - so telling.
And of course that system helped us. Everyone had access to the appropriate level per subject.
No, they didn’t get what they needed in this system. In this system, my sister had to skip a grade. Because my sister had bad social experience skipping a grade, my parents decided not to skip me I got pull out G/T classes once a week and was bored. And my point in using dumb is that kids label kids MORE in this system. It was more obvious which group you were in for which subject.
Differentiation does work, but only when administration isn’t only concentrating on test scores for the cusp kids. That hasn’t gone away, so differentiation won’t work right now for the top -ish kids and that is why we have AAP.
The real problem is 2 fold
1- phonics programs and science of reading need to differentiate for learners (not just one size fits all)
AND
2- Administration needs to focus on teaching ALL kids. They need to allow teachers to meet with all groups and not leave the middle-high kids to themselves while giving all the teacher time to the low-middle kids.
It is like people have to rewrite everything right now so everyone can question everything. And so people are reverting back to our childhoods for what works. Get a clue and read some research rather than being like “I walked a mile uphill both ways to school and it was great!” Use something other than personal experience, especially personal experience from your childhood (when you aren’t objective about the world at all) to make informed decisions.
Wow - get a clue, indeed. You continue to confuse "differentiation" with
flexible groupings, held in separate classrooms. That's nothing at all like differentiation within the same classroom, which is what you are describing. Of course that doesn't work. One teacher can't possibly offer every child in his/her classroom academics tailored to their abilities. That's why the kids should go to Rm. A for advanced language arts; Rm. B for grade-level LA; Room C for remedial, etc. Same for all core classes. And "flexible" means Larla can move up to Rm. A if she shows advanced skills in Rm. B. No testing in required to simply access a slightly more advanced curriculum.
You seem to want to make this far more complicated that it needs to be. We all know the reason for that.
And btw - there is no system in which kids label other kids as "dumb" than the current AAP / GE division. None.
Hey Alicia here- I’m not confused at all. I’m just taking your rather naive points and showing you the result of your thinking in the real world. You can’t do flexible groupings in separate classrooms for everyone. Scheduling wise it won’t work. Flexible groupings mean kids are constantly floating around. If a kid needs advanced math, but low reading and the low reading group meets with the reading teacher during the time the high math group is in math- where is the kid going to attend class? This is why this works in middle school because the sheer number of kids allows multiple sections of the same class.
If all the kids are meeting for math at the same time, all the teachers will still have to know all of the curriculum for each subject and the plus for departmentalizing for teachers is that they only have to deal with one subject. If you think switching teachers for kids in the middle of the year after every marking period or semester will work, that is naive as well. Getting to know a new teacher and a class style takes a few weeks. Changing class composition leads to instability and kids scores will go down for bit as they get to know new procedures, teaching styles etc. This works ok in high schools, but they have even switched to block schedules and they keep the same teachers for the year now.
Also, the way flexible groupings are supposed to work is kids switch up groups when they start new skills. That means a kid who has math facts down, may not have geometry down and if you think they are switching for just one unit, please see the above issues for why that won’t work.
What if kid a was in gen ed math for grade 4 and missed the grade 4/5 curriculum and then in grade 6 they go to 5/6- they will have missed half a year of instruction and have to catch up which will slow the class down.
Also, these groups will always have kids of different abilities in them even when they are segregated by “smartness”
If AAP goes, that is fine, but don’t put some half thought out system in there like you are proposing.
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