Teacher Talk Tuesday
Oh crap... it's late again. Geesh, don't tell my fifth graders about my frequent tardiness with this "weekly" establishment to my blog, they may think I'm hypocritical.
Yesterday, I was checking my daily e-mails when I came across an article title containing the phrase first graders by none other than The New York Times. We all know and trust NYT but it's quite rare, if ever, education actually makes the headlines. Naturally, I click the link, quite excited I may add, and read away.
To put it lightly, it was not what I was expecting. You can read all about it here but the gist is an explanation of a "cutting edge" style of teaching in practice in Brooklyn, NY. The learning environment consists of open classrooms with 60 kids in one large area and 4 teachers. Students work in small groups for 40 minutes then rotate to their next task. This teaching style allegedly enhances the inner learner by allowing students to learn through experiencing and collaborating with peers.
My blood pressure rose considerably at the thought of this environment. I understand the students come from extremely rough home lives leaving them to come to school with little to no interest in what another adult in their lives has to say to them, but as you read the article you get the sense these teachers are on the brink of a nervous breakdown daily. Does the answer truly lie in placing all of these students in one common area? With 4 teachers for 60 kids, this allows a 1:15 ratio... would it not be more beneficial to provide a calm, predicable, and quiet environment for students to learn?
I guess I don't have all the answers, but by the end of the article my head was spinning with questions. I sincerely hope we won't see this method on the professional development lists in the upcoming years.
PS- After reading the article and planning this post for today, I discovered she already had. I felt totally with-it in both the education world and the blogging world (although, she does a much better job of recapping the article, I must say.)
Yesterday, I was checking my daily e-mails when I came across an article title containing the phrase first graders by none other than The New York Times. We all know and trust NYT but it's quite rare, if ever, education actually makes the headlines. Naturally, I click the link, quite excited I may add, and read away.
To put it lightly, it was not what I was expecting. You can read all about it here but the gist is an explanation of a "cutting edge" style of teaching in practice in Brooklyn, NY. The learning environment consists of open classrooms with 60 kids in one large area and 4 teachers. Students work in small groups for 40 minutes then rotate to their next task. This teaching style allegedly enhances the inner learner by allowing students to learn through experiencing and collaborating with peers.
My blood pressure rose considerably at the thought of this environment. I understand the students come from extremely rough home lives leaving them to come to school with little to no interest in what another adult in their lives has to say to them, but as you read the article you get the sense these teachers are on the brink of a nervous breakdown daily. Does the answer truly lie in placing all of these students in one common area? With 4 teachers for 60 kids, this allows a 1:15 ratio... would it not be more beneficial to provide a calm, predicable, and quiet environment for students to learn?
I guess I don't have all the answers, but by the end of the article my head was spinning with questions. I sincerely hope we won't see this method on the professional development lists in the upcoming years.
PS- After reading the article and planning this post for today, I discovered she already had. I felt totally with-it in both the education world and the blogging world (although, she does a much better job of recapping the article, I must say.)
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