Friday, September 07, 2007

What Next?

School Woes Again

OK, so I managed to get my teaching schedule adjusted so I didn't have 5 different class preparations a day. All was well.

Then I received my class lists and cringed. Not because of who was in my classes but rather how many were in my classes. Both of my freshman classes list 29 students.

Many studies here in the US have proven that smaller class sizes inspire better education and somewhere between 20-25 is a good size.

I have only 25 desks in my classroom and because it is also a computer lab with 20 computers, I really don't have room for more desks. Maybe we could squeeze in two more, but even then it starts to become a fire hazard because there is too little room to navigate. Moving things around won't even help as far as I can tell and several areas of wall space cannot be used because of various venting and power panels--my room used to be a shop where they taught electrical trades.

Fortunately for the students, I have separate chairs at the computer workstations, so when the extra students showed up, they did have a place to sit.

BUT, then my afternoon freshman group came in, filled the desks, spilled over to the computer chairs and I took attendance. When I was done, two hands shot up and students told me I had not called their names. I'd called 29 names and still missed two more students added to the class.

31.

This is ridiculous. The students told me every teacher they had before they came to my room didn't have enough desks either. I had the impression the other teachers didn't even have a place for them to sit.

The way the master schedule is designed, there are no parallel classes so that we could swap students or create another section or two of freshman. I know one of the math teachers is having a problem with a precalculus class that is too big and there are still more students who want to take the course.

There are bigger floor space classrooms than mine that could accomodate the larger classes, but it still is not fair to anyone to create this kind of situation. This is such poor planning.

Often we do have students who leave the school to go back to their sending schools during the first few weeks, but my large class is made up of the higher level kids who probably are in career tracks they really want to study, so it's less likely they will leave--unless the crowded conditions drive them away.

I guess we will try to cope for a week or so to see how things settle in.

Did I ride?

No.

I was exhausted, it was too hot, and I had to go to choir practice in the evening when it cooled off.

1 comment:

  1. the studies are the same in the UK. health and safety? aren't there laws about that over there? I guess when the kids go home and tell their parents then something will be done as the parents will kick up a fuss...one would hope.

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