First Day of School
The summer's officially over, and the kids came back to school today. I have one Pre-AP class, three accelerated classes, and one regular class. Pre-AP is supposed to be the cream of the crop, and they seem to be. Accelerated is supposed to be, you know, accelerated, but they're really not that special to be honest. They're probably on grade level. The regular class contains a few kids who failed the MCT. In other words, there are a few who are in exactly the same boat as the ones I taught last year.
The difference is in how the schedules are being done. Instead of being put in a class for two hours like the ones I taught last year, they have a regular class with me, then later in the day they have a remedial class with another teacher. I think there's some new program they're using to try catching the kids up. I like it because this way all the behind kids aren't in one room together. (Or at least it isn't MY room.) Anyway, I only have one class that has a few of the behind kids in it, and so far I don't even know how many of them there are. I don't think there are many. There's one kid who doesn't speak much English, and she's in it. There are a few knuckleheads who want to play, but they're angels compared to the hellions I have dealt with the last two years.
There were the usual first day glitches. Lunch was a nightmare because classes were showing up at the wrong times, getting in the wrong lines (guilty) and so forth.
Overall, my kids seem to be very good and I'm excited because I might actually get to TEACH this year.
The difference is in how the schedules are being done. Instead of being put in a class for two hours like the ones I taught last year, they have a regular class with me, then later in the day they have a remedial class with another teacher. I think there's some new program they're using to try catching the kids up. I like it because this way all the behind kids aren't in one room together. (Or at least it isn't MY room.) Anyway, I only have one class that has a few of the behind kids in it, and so far I don't even know how many of them there are. I don't think there are many. There's one kid who doesn't speak much English, and she's in it. There are a few knuckleheads who want to play, but they're angels compared to the hellions I have dealt with the last two years.
There were the usual first day glitches. Lunch was a nightmare because classes were showing up at the wrong times, getting in the wrong lines (guilty) and so forth.
Overall, my kids seem to be very good and I'm excited because I might actually get to TEACH this year.
Don't get too cocky there, Miz Ann. The school year is almost over, you know.
Posted by
Stewed Hamm |
6:35 PM
That's called 'Double Dose' scheduling. That's what I taught for the last couple of years. The idea is that some kids learn in different ways, so they are exposed to the concepts twice, by different teaching styles. Of course I had the remedial kids. Most of it was Math, but I also had two English classes.
It works well as long as they have different teachers. When I was reassigned to Science last year, the middle school DD kids had the SAME teacher twice a day for Math. That is a waste of time. If they don't get it the first time with a teacher, they won't get it a second time.
I think it worked better for Math than for English.
Posted by
Hillbilly Mom |
7:46 PM
SH, Yeah, as soon as I get used to them, I'll have to leave to squeeze the baby out, and after that the school year will be almost over.
HM, That's what we call it too. I didn't think anyone here would know what I meant by "double dose kids." I taught DD last year. The same class had me for an hour, had a 3 minute break, and came directly back to me for another hour. It SUCKED. It was hard to plan for-- no, it was impossible to plan for. Who has two hours worth of teaching for the same kids? I mean, I can teach for two hours, but they drift off at the end of the first hour, so it's pointless. It's impossible to hold ANY 14 year old's attention for that long, much less the ones who are already deficient in what you're trying to teach them.
I'll never teach a class like that again if I can help it.
Posted by
Mommy Needs a Xanax |
8:09 PM