Wk 8 - day 35

tuesday was spent in a different classroom. not much out of the ordinary with the students. the teacher is very frustrated with their problems on multiplication...especially with decimals. the biggest problem seemed to be adding a zero for the ones position when adding the numbers together after multiplying them. i don't know if i'm explaining this clearly enough. i personally don't think it's any shortcomings of the teacher...lots of lessons and examples on the smartboard, handouts, reviews, etc. it just brings the question to mind on how to teach something to the students when you've tried all the "tricks" you know. of course, some of the students are getting it, but a good percent are not.

the bigger problem, in my eyes, is that with so many students in class, there is no way to reach everybody. i don't have any children myself, but i would definitely think twice about sending them into a classroom with a large number of children if i did. it seems that with more and more emphasis placed on the students with special needs or students at risk...the students of, dare i say, average and above average intelligence...are the ones being ignored.

the teachers sitting in the lounge during break were complaining about having to document reading assessments with students. i know it's just not this school, but teachers are having to do more and more in the classroom that was normally someone else's job. i spent many weeks in a classroom last year with a reading specialist for 4th graders that were at risk. what the teachers are required to do up here in this district was another teachers main job at a different district south of here...and she had trouble keeping up. the thought around here is that the special ed. teachers and specialists are being phased out and the regular ed. classroom teacher will pick up the load. i have issues with this problem.