Switching Classes

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Home : 2002 : July : 2

Switching Classes
By Jennie

I guess it is easy to pass judgments on the negative aspects of switching students for classes. But, having worked with this model successfully for the past four years, I felt a need to respond. I must agree, it is NOT for
every teacher and not for every group of students. I, however, am fortunate to work with a colleague whose style compliments mine in such a positive manner that we know our students are benefiting from the work we do together. I teach small groups of math, she teaches small groups of reading, and our instructional assistants work with small groups of the remaining students. We teach next

door to one another, our classroom rules are the same, we have similar teaching styles, she is just more reading oriented while I am more math oriented. And yes, we do keep up our positive community feeling within the classroom. The classroom walls are just extended. Rather than having only fifteen students in my homeroom, I feel as though I have thirty. And no, I don't feel as though I'm trying to make it easier on myself as a teacher. I still provide my students with reading instruction also, they simply receive small group instruction from my colleague. ALL of our students were on grade level this year according to state assessements in reading, writing and math, and we've had over 95% performing at that level for the past four years. Yes, it does work, it can work, it just has to be in the right situation and you have to be working with the right person. I'm not trying to push my students into middle school. I feel as though I'm simply giving them opportunities to work with lots of different people (students and teachers). Everyone has an opinion regarding this subject, and the opinion posted by J/IA seems to be the prevailing one for the present time. It's just unfortunate that people can't see the positive aspects of working together also.