Reply to Those of you asking for differentiation in ES have unrealistic expectations

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][b]Hmm, maybe there isn’t much differentiation needed when all of the students are more or less at the same level, in addition to having small class sizes.[/b]

In many APS elementary schools, students from all sorts of backgrounds are in classes together. There are bright kids, not-so-bright kids, kids living in poverty, kids from affluent homes, and kids that speak little to no English all in the same (overcrowded) classroom together. Of course many of them aren’t at the same reading and/or math levels.

Why is it wrong to want instruction based on the needs of each child?

It would be much better to separate classes into different levels, but nooooo... equity rules! (Even if that means limiting some students’ potential and growth. Gotta give all the teacher’s time and effort to the low performers!)[/quote]

That is my point. In ES zones with low FARMs and ESOL rates, differentiation should not be needed. So go find those ES.[/quote]

So, you can’t have differing levels of ability in affluent schools? The not-so-bright and disruptive students are only located in high FARM schools?

Even in the low FARM schools, they place all kids together, regardless of ability. So the low achievers in those schools still get all of the teacher’s time, and the high ability kids get to do busy work on their own.

Your point sucks.[/quote]

In low FARMs and ESOL schools, the difference between the best and worst performer will be much narrower, correct. So differentiation is not needed. It’s also not practical, when students stay in the same class with the same teacher all day. You might have some kids strong in math but weak in reading and writing, some kids with excellent reading comprehension but poor in math, etc. If you only have 3 or 4 classes per grade it becomes difficult to differentiate. It’s much easier starting middle school when students take different classes with different teachers.[/quote]

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