Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious what posters think should happen instead? So the teachers goes over directions and asks if students have questions about the assignment. Should she allow students to interrupt her small group whenever they want? If you could seen what that looks like, I bet you would think differently.

The child should raise hand, ask the question and the teacher should answer it. I don’t understand the difficulty or how this presents a burden? I have volunteered in my kids’ classes and the teachers do just that.

Probably because you volunteered after the rules were established. This is a perfectly appropriate rule. And the other posters are right that parents would complain that the teacher is not focused on her kid’s group. (A teacher isn’t going to stop a whole group discussion to answer johnny’s 3rd question about names on the paper, colored pencil or crayons or not colored at all, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the teachers dissuade the students from asking the teacher for help. If everyone asked for help all the time, the teacher would be busy with answering questions instead of teaching.

It encourages them to pay better attention, figure it out, ask classmates. And it doesn't really matter if he did the worksheet wrong in October of 1st grade. They're still learning.

Let's just say this is reason #76027602 that my kids are in private schools.

Awesome for you. This is a conversation that doesn’t necessitate your input then.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the teachers dissuade the students from asking the teacher for help. If everyone asked for help all the time, the teacher would be busy with answering questions instead of teaching.

It encourages them to pay better attention, figure it out, ask classmates. And it doesn't really matter if he did the worksheet wrong in October of 1st grade. They're still learning.

Let's just say this is reason #76027602 that my kids are in private schools.

It’s not 10 kids asking the same question. It’s one kid asking that question, another asking to use the bathroom, another letting you know his pencil broke (even though he’s got 3 more sharpened pencils in his desk), another asking for another copy of the paper bc he made a small tear while erasing, another telling you his neighbor spilled their water bottle on his desk, another now needs a drink....get the idea! You have no f’ing clue how important it is that your child learns to be independent and no idea how little it matters if this sheet was done incorrectly. 50% of the parents at my recent parent teacher conferences asked for more differentiation for their child. It is simply not possible without uninterrupted small group time. I recently returned to teaching after a ten year hiatus to raise my own kids. The expectations on teachers have changed dramatically. Please trust your child’s teacher until she gives you a reason not to do so.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC (also in 1st grade) teacher will tell them she's busy and not help them. It's really awful, because it has made DC not ask her anything when help is needed because of being turned away so many times. I supplement a lot at home now, and got DC a tutor, but DC still has a crappy 1st grade teacher, unfortunately.

It’s not the teacher. It’s the class sizes and differentiation for wildly different levels of students we have to do at all times in the classroom. We are not superheroes, we can only do so much. Talk to your school board and vote for more funding so we can have smaller class sizes!

PP here. Just one class of mine has 8 ELL students in it, of varying lengths of time in this country, so they have anywhere from half a year to 3 years of English experience. I have to differentiate and accommodate for each of them *in different ways* because their speaking fluency may be lower than reading but higher than writing or listening. I also have 4 students with IEPs in that class who need prompts to stay on task, copies of notes, assurance with assignments, small group testing, etc. it is sometimes all I can do to circulate all these kids and make sure they’re on task, so I CANNOT repeat the instructions every time Jimmy who didn’t listen asks me or answer a question a peer could easily answer for me. It’s not a matter of being a “bad” teacher - we see simply stretched too thin.

Anonymous wrote:DC (also in 1st grade) teacher will tell them she's busy and not help them. It's really awful, because it has made DC not ask her anything when help is needed because of being turned away so many times. I supplement a lot at home now, and got DC a tutor, but DC still has a crappy 1st grade teacher, unfortunately.

It’s not the teacher. It’s the class sizes and differentiation for wildly different levels of students we have to do at all times in the classroom. We are not superheroes, we can only do so much. Talk to your school board and vote for more funding so we can have smaller class sizes!

DC (also in 1st grade) teacher will tell them she's busy and not help them. It's really awful, because it has made DC not ask her anything when help is needed because of being turned away so many times. I supplement a lot at home now, and got DC a tutor, but DC still has a crappy 1st grade teacher, unfortunately.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious what posters think should happen instead? So the teachers goes over directions and asks if students have questions about the assignment. Should she allow students to interrupt her small group whenever they want? If you could seen what that looks like, I bet you would think differently.

The child should raise hand, ask the question and the teacher should answer it. I don’t understand the difficulty or how this presents a burden? I have volunteered in my kids’ classes and the teachers do just that.

The situation is, the teacher is sitting at a side table working with a small group of 5 or so. The rest of the students are working independently at desks. If the teacher is focusing on the hands raised at the desks she cannot work with the small group at the side table at the same time.

This just seems like another example of people assuming they know how teaching works, because they were once in school and have been in classrooms now and then.

Ok, first not all schools do this. I know public schools have adapted this style in recent years, but thread illustrates why it isn’t a successful model. Not only is it NOT successful, it’s a disaster. I have A LOT of sympathy for public school teachers. I know you guys are doing the best you can with a crappy model.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious what posters think should happen instead? So the teachers goes over directions and asks if students have questions about the assignment. Should she allow students to interrupt her small group whenever they want? If you could seen what that looks like, I bet you would think differently.

The child should raise hand, ask the question and the teacher should answer it. I don’t understand the difficulty or how this presents a burden? I have volunteered in my kids’ classes and the teachers do just that.

So let’s say there are 10 kids asking what to do over and over again because they didn’t listen the first time. I’m sure you’d be annoyed that your child’s short small group time was bring interrupted and cut short because of these interruptions.

If ten children aren’t listening, then that is poor classroom management. If ten students don’t understand directions, then the teacher should rephrase her directions. If ten kids don’t understand, then the lesson should be given more time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious what posters think should happen instead? So the teachers goes over directions and asks if students have questions about the assignment. Should she allow students to interrupt her small group whenever they want? If you could seen what that looks like, I bet you would think differently.

The child should raise hand, ask the question and the teacher should answer it. I don’t understand the difficulty or how this presents a burden? I have volunteered in my kids’ classes and the teachers do just that.

So let’s say there are 10 kids asking what to do over and over again because they didn’t listen the first time. I’m sure you’d be annoyed that your child’s short small group time was bring interrupted and cut short because of these interruptions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious what posters think should happen instead? So the teachers goes over directions and asks if students have questions about the assignment. Should she allow students to interrupt her small group whenever they want? If you could seen what that looks like, I bet you would think differently.

The child should raise hand, ask the question and the teacher should answer it. I don’t understand the difficulty or how this presents a burden? I have volunteered in my kids’ classes and the teachers do just that.

The situation is, the teacher is sitting at a side table working with a small group of 5 or so. The rest of the students are working independently at desks. If the teacher is focusing on the hands raised at the desks she cannot work with the small group at the side table at the same time.

This just seems like another example of people assuming they know how teaching works, because they were once in school and have been in classrooms now and then.

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious what posters think should happen instead? So the teachers goes over directions and asks if students have questions about the assignment. Should she allow students to interrupt her small group whenever they want? If you could seen what that looks like, I bet you would think differently.

The child should raise hand, ask the question and the teacher should answer it. I don’t understand the difficulty or how this presents a burden? I have volunteered in my kids’ classes and the teachers do just that.

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious what posters think should happen instead? So the teachers goes over directions and asks if students have questions about the assignment. Should she allow students to interrupt her small group whenever they want? If you could seen what that looks like, I bet you would think differently.

Hint: they don’t care about the other kids in the class. Only theirs.

[NP here. Exactly— he had a real question & felt he couldn’t ask the teacher for help. My kid has a teacher who does this, and I think it’s lazy teaching at some point. Sure, there are things kids could legitimately ask a peer, but kids shouldn’t be relying on peers to teach them how to do the schoolwork. That is ridiculous. Also, my kid has gotten frustrated when the teacher won’t answer a question that clearly none of the kids can answer. It’s the teacher’s job to address kids’ legitimate questions.]
To the poster who thinks the teacher is lazy, you obviously have never taught. Assuming one-third, one-fourth, or one-fifth of the class is working with the teacher, that means the majority are not. If there are not rules in place to prevent the group's work from being interrupted, group work wouldn't be possible. And trust me, more quality work is accomplished during that time than during independent work time. This is where the best teaching and learning can occur. It's too valuable to spend the time repeating instructions to the kids who aren't in the group. Asking 3 others first is reasonable and in the best interests of all of the students. This is not "relying on peers to teach them how to do the schoolwork and it's definitely not lazy! It's work that the teacher believes they can do independently, so it's practice work, not a brand-new skill. The OP's son will grow and learn from the overall experience (i.e. paying attention to directions is important and if you don't, you might feel that uncomfortable feeling that comes from getting a bad grade).

Using this on a 6 year old is perfectly fine.