Reply to Honors English 9A, MP1: What is your child reading?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]With the new opt out policy, teachers are even more beleaguered. The RT at my school was concerned about showcasing the texts her teachers were using at BTSN because she worried that parents would flip through them and complain. [/quote]

Could a parent opt out of Magic Fish and All American Boys and in effect force A Separate Peace?[/quote]

My 9th grade students have the option to opt out of the Magic Fish, especially considering the fact it has a moderate LGBTQ focus.  We told them in class they can do that.  However we have let them know that the other books they choose will be more difficult and that all instruction will be tailored towards the 99% of kids who are reading The Magic Fish.  Any kid who opts out will essentially be on independent study and for better or worse, be left to sink or swim.  This is not an ideal way to begin their adjustment to high school and the real academic consequences that come with it.[/quote]

What would you say to a student who doesn’t want/need to opt out of Magic Fish but would like to be offered a more challenging book and guided independent study in addition? [/quote]

They have that option if they want.  They also have the option to read independently on their own outside of school.  Nobody is stopping them from doing that.  However, If they want to be able to receive regular and routine assistance and guidance from myself and the other teacher in the room, they probably should follow the plan in place.

If a child is truly so gifted that Magic Fish is beneath them, they should have no issue with easily getting their A during the 44 minutes a day we spend in class and supplementing their education outside of class.[/quote]

Shouldn't Magic Fish be "beneath" almost every student since it's written below a 3rd grade reading level?  Is your class majority EML students or kids otherwise way below grade level?  Why would you try to steer all the kids in your honors English high school class into a book at an elementary school level?[/quote]

I am the co teacher.  The other teacher who is the established ELA teacher has been teaching 9th grade for 6 years and I trust their judgement in knowing how to ensure student success early in the year.[/quote]

Some teachers may not want to have to provide interaction and guidance on more than one text, and then encourage the class to lowest common denominator options, but telling kids that they can't access a higher level within a prescribed curriculum except by independent study is inequitable.  It is so on its face for those needing that stretch to benefit from the curriculum due to their having mastered the levels offered by the simpler texts.  It is so in an insidious manner for others due to the effects of a prejudice of low expectations.  In each case, the lost opportunity to learn far outweighs the relative ease of achieving a high grade.

Society loses in this case.  If teachers need greater support to effect a better outcome, society should provide that support (e.g., via tax-sourced funding to ensure smaller class sizes and adequate differential FTEs for highly heterogeneous student populations), but then society should require teacher adherence to the associated expectation.

It would seem, however, that a teacher plus a co-teacher would suffice for most classrooms.  Can you elaborate on the extrordinary burdens preventing your team from achieving effective instruction, whether difficulty inherent in the cohort taught or strictures placed on time and method with which we might be unfamiliar?  Do central office policies further interfere?  Does the union act to establish working conditions that dissuade teachers from providing the fidelity to instructional intent that they might otherwise pursue?[/quote]

In full and more transparency than I need to provide, i have been here teaching at this school and in the 9th grade for a grand total of 12 days.  The other teacher has created and established a long standing and successful plan within the provided curriculum.  Maybe its my fault that I even involved myself in This discussion under these circumstances but an original question was asked and I answered it.  Any further elaboration you require and attempts to discredit the curriculum and our plan to implement it is on you.

Just know that I do not disagree that the honors for all system is flawed.  I dont necessarily like the idea of having to teach 3-4 different classes inside the same classroom.  I do however understand that these kids are just starting high school where they are finally being held to academic standards and consequences and many of these students need a little time to adjust.  Things will hopefully get more challenging as the year progresses but this first unit is essentially wading into the pool rather than diving in headfirst.[/quote]

Apreciate the context and the note against lack of differentiation.  However, without knowing more about that which is causing teachers to encourage such definitively below-grade-level texts, abandoning students with the motivation and aptitude to pursue more to a lack of teaching assistance/guidance, it would be hard to advocate for remedies effectively.[/quote]

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