Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was on the train this weekend and choose to sit in the quiet car. Why can't schools offer a "quiet" section of the core classes? Students would opt into the section and they would have to sign a contract agreeing to the rules of the classroom. 3rd time you violate the rules you are moved to a non "quiet" section.

So put all the "good" kids in one class and the "bad" ones in the rest? I'm sure that will go over well.

No one is “putting” anyone in any classes. Kids would have to agree to the rules of the classroom. It would be one section; the other sections would be filled as they currently are. No one is saying that a talkative kid is a “bad” kid. Some people just learn better in quiet environments. What is the harm in creating a section of a core class that addresses that need?

Clearly you have zero clue on how life is for an ADHD (or any other LD)

It is so frustrating and disheartening how loud some of the classroom. My son has a slight to mild hearing loss so it is tougher for him when the class is so loud.

He was in a biology class in 9th grade that was completely out of control. He called me before class to remind me he was going to a friends class after school. It got so loud all of a sudden and I asked him what was going on. He said he had walked into his class. He put me on speaker and didn't hang up the phone for five minutes. I could not hear the teacher speaking over the noise of students laughing, moving around, yelling, etc.

He was getting a C in the class because he had no idea what was going on, what to turn in, what they were learning. I called his counselor to get him out of that class. So many parents complain about that teacher the counselor were told they couldn't move anyone else out or the parents would get mad their child wasn't moved. She had me speak to the vice-principal who said she would move him only because he had a documented medical issue.

He switched to a quiet, well controlled honors biology class and immediately started getting A's in everything. He ended up with A's both semesters.

It is so unfair how a few kids can disrupt the learning of so many students. The only thing that was positive is it motivated my son to study and be willing to use tutors so he could enroll and do well in honors/AP classes. Even in some of those classes it is still really loud.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the problems begin in elementary. I think we need to rethink how we train teachers in behavior management so kids are respectful to teachers and don't interrupt, talk out of turn or create other disruptions. There are many countries where the kids are more respectful. If you read the articles about the Philippines where some of the new teachers are coming from to fill shortages they are shocked by how American kids act.

The training that is needed is for parents and students. What you’re talking about is discipline and manners, both of which start at home.

First of all some parents are providing this at home and these are the parents who are most likely to complain about the distraction of behavioral issues in school. Lecturing these parents about how they need to teach manners at home is pointless because they already are. The parent's who aren't are not engaging schools on this issue.

Second you literally just said the training is needed for students. While yes this needs to happen at home it ALSO should happen at school. Which means teachers should be teaching and reinforcing discipline and manners in the classroom. And some teachers likely need better info on how to do this because it's apparent this isn't happening in many classrooms.

As a parent who emphasizes manners and social skills and self-discipline at home I get frustrated by the fact that it sometimes feels I'm working against the school where both the other students and the teachers don't seem to care about this and it is not reinforced. Some teachers actively reinforce BAD behavior by rewarding kids for being pushy and speaking out of turn for instance. It's poor classroom management.

Anonymous wrote:I think the problems begin in elementary. I think we need to rethink how we train teachers in behavior management so kids are respectful to teachers and don't interrupt, talk out of turn or create other disruptions. There are many countries where the kids are more respectful. If you read the articles about the Philippines where some of the new teachers are coming from to fill shortages they are shocked by how American kids act.

The training that is needed is for parents and students. What you’re talking about is discipline and manners, both of which start at home.

That is an awesome idea, OP.

I think the problems begin in elementary. I think we need to rethink how we train teachers in behavior management so kids are respectful to teachers and don't interrupt, talk out of turn or create other disruptions. There are many countries where the kids are more respectful. If you read the articles about the Philippines where some of the new teachers are coming from to fill shortages they are shocked by how American kids act.

I wish the computer programs they use for scheduling would be smarter and allow kids and teachers to choose each other's style. What you're talking about in this thread is matching kids to the right teaching style.

Unfortunately I bet this could be abused at some point but wouldn't it be great if the talkative kid wanted the teacher who is more relaxed about talking in her classroom and the kids who wanted to have just the teacher talking could choose teachers who like to teach that way?

Anonymous wrote:This is sort of why I wish we had boys and girls classes separate. My dd is just so annoyed by all the disruptive boys in class. It’s nonstop for her. She’s also always placed next to the most disruptive because she’s a rule follower (dh and I constantly try to get her to stand up for herself).

On the other hand, my son would love a more active class. Little boys need so much more exercise and activity on average. They need ran like little puppies. But most teachers are female and most classes are geared towards girls.

There are schools like that.

This is sort of why I wish we had boys and girls classes separate. My dd is just so annoyed by all the disruptive boys in class. It’s nonstop for her. She’s also always placed next to the most disruptive because she’s a rule follower (dh and I constantly try to get her to stand up for herself).

On the other hand, my son would love a more active class. Little boys need so much more exercise and activity on average. They need ran like little puppies. But most teachers are female and most classes are geared towards girls.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet there would be a lot fewer kids in the Catholic schools if the public schools did this.

That would be bad then since schools would get more crowded and the budget would remain the same.

Budget is not equal per student. Disruptive students eat a far larger share of budget, per capita.

Not necessarily. They may not be getting any special help. There is plenty of money if mcps budgeted properly.

Teachers are dinged if they do and dinged if they don't. It is unsupportive at best describing the respect for teachers and education.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was on the train this weekend and choose to sit in the quiet car. Why can't schools offer a "quiet" section of the core classes? Students would opt into the section and they would have to sign a contract agreeing to the rules of the classroom. 3rd time you violate the rules you are moved to a non "quiet" section.

So put all the "good" kids in one class and the "bad" ones in the rest? I'm sure that will go over well.

No one is “putting” anyone in any classes. Kids would have to agree to the rules of the classroom. It would be one section; the other sections would be filled as they currently are. No one is saying that a talkative kid is a “bad” kid. Some people just learn better in quiet environments. What is the harm in creating a section of a core class that addresses that need?

I appreciate this distinction. I have a very chatty kid who is also very academic and a rule follower. She would 100% want to be in the quiet class because she learns best in an environment like that. But it would require effort from her to do it because her instinct is absolutely to talk. If she was forced to decide which one was more important to her I think she'd choose the quiet class and make the effort to follow the rules because she takes rules seriously and can be disciplined when she wants.

So that's one example of a kid whose behavior could actually be improved by a class like this. As long as she followed the rules she could stay in the quiet classroom even though in a classroom without these types of rules she'd likely be one of the chattiest kids in class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet there would be a lot fewer kids in the Catholic schools if the public schools did this.

That would be bad then since schools would get more crowded and the budget would remain the same.

Budget is not equal per student. Disruptive students eat a far larger share of budget, per capita.