The new push in elementary education is departmentalizing the subjects just as you would in middle or high school. What I mean by departmentalization is the students are given one teacher for math, one teacher for reading, one teacher for science, another for social studies instruction. This is happening even in second grade. I know that we have many professionals that do not have training and college degrees majoring in education that are now being recuited to teach. The task of teaching every subject in elementary school is a daunting task but, is assigning a 7 year old to four different teachers really going to benefit the student? I have found that young children learn best when subjects are integrated in such a way that can make connections. The homeroom for young children plays a much bigger role than just a place to put their bookbags and lunch boxes. That classroom is really a society within itself where children learn not only to read, add, and subtract. They also learn how to play with each other, form relationships, take chances in a safe environment that encourages creativity. Much of this is lost when the students take no ownership of their space. I hope that the trend turns back to one teacher with one classroom providing a place of growth and building connections before we start teaching the just the parts.
Tracy Fields
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Hello Tracy, I wasn't even aware of the fact that children at that age level changed classes. Back when I was in school, we didn't change classes until we reached the 4th grade. I agree with you totally. That is too young of age for that student to be dealing with 4 or 5 different personalities depending on how many teachers. I also agree with you about teaching across the curriculum and connecting all subject areas to benefit the child. Often times students who are stronger in one area than the other can understand a concept in the struggling subject better by connecting information from the stronger subject. Teaching across the curriculum is a great thing. Great post,
Dre
Hi Tracy, I think that departmentalizing is great for middle and high school. I teach second graders so it takes a lot of time for them to adjust to one person so they don't need to have to deal with multiple personalities. There are times when we send students out for EIP Math which provides extra help for the struggling math student. But I still help them also with problem areas. Teaching skills take time and practice and entails making mistakes and learning from them.When working with young children, I usually try various techniques trying to see what works for my own students. This is during a time in a child's life when they must try things and build connections.
Hello Tracy,
I never understood why it took so long for this to happen. I always thought the system was backwards. If you think about it, our attention span increases in length as we get older. Well most of us anyway Lol! As a first grader, it's very difficult to sit in the same room all day. it becomes easier and easier as you get older. That is because your attention span is increasing. I do see the problem of high schoolers in one class all day though. Who is qualified to teach multiple high level courses? I do like the idea of changing classes for elementary kids though.
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