60 First Graders,
4 Teachers,
One Loud New Way to Learn
Oh.
My.
Gosh.
My.
Gosh.
I can't even think right now!
I teach 13 second graders in a private Christian school in almost-a-suburb Windsor. And I still have days when the loudness drives me to pop three Aleve with my bitter coffee that I didn't get a chance to drink by noon.
But at least I can TEACH them. And they can LEARN in relative peace even when the classical tunes are cranking and the buzz of 13 voices reading different books fills the room.
They can learn how to subtract with regrouping even when their base ten blocks are clacking on their desks and two-thirds of them are groaning for help. I can actually make it around to see each one of them before lunch even.
They can write books. WHOLE ENTIRE BOOKS with dedications and covers, capitals and periods, crafty beginnings and interesting endings about anything they are interested in. And I can meet with each and every one when they sign up for a conference.
Interruptions, you wonder? Well, yes. A couple of kids will come up to me and make a giant B with their hands. This means they want to go to the bathroom. And I trust them, so I let them go. Someone needs a pencil so they get up, go to the SHARP box, and take one. Two kids are talking about playing Bey Blades later. I make the cut motion with my hand, give them the I've-got-my-eye-on-you look, and they go back to work.
Interruptions in a 60-kid 2000-square foot space? I can't even imagine it. I go nuts when the flourescent bulbs start to buzz. Can you just hear the noise now? Even with four teachers and a 15:1 ratio, I don't think I'd ever find my sanity after a day of this madness. The sheer noise of 60 kids with sniffles in January would drive me into the quarry.
Worse, these kids are among the neediest. There are apparent issues in this class. I've taught in the inner city before. There's STUFF going on for the 18 hours these kids are not in school. Murders, drugs, homelessness, no coat, no food, no pencil for homework. School is quite possibly the only safe zone these kids have. The kids I teach now are millionaires by comparison. These 60 children represent a whole other slice of America. And as one blogger put it, they don't have a year of learning to sacrifice in an experiment.
Madness.
That's what it is. Pure madness. And it's modeled after an EXCLUSIVE PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL. Yeah. Night and day, I tell you. Would you EVER in a million years see this happening in your rich happy school districts? I doubt it. Status quo there. If they're passing the test, then don't change a thing. (Not that I agree with the test thing. But that's a whole different pie.)
I'm still fuming mad. When I think back to the article, I see these teachers running around like chickens with no heads. I see them literally falling off their chairs, smoothing out their skirts, and spending a good five minutes refocusing the kids who weren't focused to begin with. I see kids who know they're doing math, but have not a clue WHAT they're learning. I see 6-year-olds who don't know their ABCs, how to spell their names, how to read on even a kindergarten level. Who's going to find time to spend with them on their level without having to put out a fire across the room? And it's NOT the teachers' fault, though it certainly becomes their problem. THEY didn't create it. Nooooo siree. Some man who used to be a principal and knows about a preppy private school is the god of this universe. Would anybody with a choice be willing to put their children in this room? I would run screaming to Alaska, where I could see Russia, incidentally.
It's Not All Flowers And Sausages pretty much tells it like it is. In fact, there's not a word I disagree with. (Just a few choice words I try not to say. ptptptptpt) This is truly an innovation evolved into pure insanity.
WOW!!!!!!!
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