Reply to Given the rigor of Basis, was it ever expected to be for every kid in the District?

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Reply to "Given the rigor of Basis, was it ever expected to be for every kid in the District? "

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
It is absolutely not a joke.
I have seen it done at the elementary, middle and even high school level in selective schools.
This is something consistently done in US schools overseas, where diplomatic and business communities are served. Teachers may not face the exact same challenges as in public schools but they have so many other ones.

At the elementary level, small group instruction is being used [b]consistently[/b]
At the middle and high schoo level, lessons are prepared and written in a simpler format (think abridged version of a complicated book).
Let's say it's history or social studies at the middle or high school level. Those students who are struggling with the language will have teacher-made simpler reading which does not sacrifice context.
Same happens with some of the homework and some of the testing.
The word "differentiation" itself is seldom used but expected to be  fully implemented.

Is it time consuming? You bet! However, once the teacher has the material, it is just a matter of implementing it. Instead of spending hundreds of hours on meetings and empty staff development, have the school concentrate on differentitation in the classroom and equity will definitely follow.
[/quote]

Small group instruction often means that each group gets about 10 minutes of a teacher's time instead of the full class time of about an hour. The rest of the time is spent doing who knows what!! How is 10 minutes of a teacher's time better than the whole class time???

As for the teacher making easier reading materials, how does that help with the student who cannot read who may be in a class with a student already performing at a college level??? How is that a wise use of a teacher's limited time???

As for equity, I am not sure what you mean. The fact is that every student has unique abilities and needs and hence will never be "equal" in that sense. However, we all have equal worth. Meeting the needs of all students does not mean we are somehow treating some groups as unequal.

I am for ability group with supports and frequent re-assessments allowing for movement when ready. Until schools see this, then schools will continue to fail students.[/quote]

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