tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post2294511502161359556..comments2023-11-03T09:36:22.100-04:00Comments on In From the Cold: The Size MythGeorge Smileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049707648660651119noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-28442213135012137252011-07-10T15:17:01.371-04:002011-07-10T15:17:01.371-04:00I wonder how much staff increases (other than teac...I wonder how much staff increases (other than teachers) has been due to the onerous reporting and other staffing requirements of receiving federal money to schools.Alaska Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16503023042469463899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-12216784288776569892011-07-10T09:49:48.251-04:002011-07-10T09:49:48.251-04:00What John From Pennsylvania said. Every child has ...What John From Pennsylvania said. Every child has to be taught on an individual basis, show learning gains and adequate yearly progress, and all children must pass the state standardized test (science is tested here) regardless of IQ or the teacher will be dismissed. 50 point IQ differentials within the same class are common. There will be several formerly special education children in class because of mainstreaming. There are going to be discipline problems in class. And the teacher's problem is that they and the administration are powerless do anything about children that are disruptive in class.SwampWomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08395051552137680646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-64661674799209564042011-07-09T20:11:09.023-04:002011-07-09T20:11:09.023-04:00Having served 24 years in the army I have found mo...Having served 24 years in the army I have found more challenges in the 12 years of teaching that I have done. As to class size, I teach science in a nice suburb school and my class load has ranged from 120 to 145 for 5 science classes which breaks down to an average of about 24 to 29 students per class. What has really changed is the drive by the powers that be to individualize teaching for every student. Teaching science class and having to make 4-5 different tests or quizzes for everyone because of learning differences is really time consuming. Plus certain students aren't graded the same because of individual learning plans that I have no control over. Some get extra time, only have to answer 1/2 of the questions that regular students have to answer or their multiple choice questions can only have 3 possible answers, not 4 or 5 and you can see how it can pile up. The problem is that I have to focus so much on the lower ability students because of legal issues (IEP's), and the high students that have parents that are closely watching everything they do, the middle 80% of the students get ignored because of time constraints. I know my district HS classes average about 14-16 students so that brings down the overall average class size for a district but check with other middle school students. Social students and science teachers have to teach everyone. English and math classes have classes for different ability levels so students with IEP's /learning difficulties are put in much smaller classes to address their learning issues. Also science and social studies are not measured for Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) under NCLB so the push is to reduce the size of the classes in those subjects that show up in the reports to the state and local newspapers. Trying to really teach science and engage the students in hands on activities when you have so many in the classroom can be done but you really have to be on top of your game and I would love for some people who talk about bad teachers come in my classroom for a marking period, not a day or a week and really see what it is like.John from Pennsylvaniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14037277947235149451noreply@blogger.com