Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Double WTF!!!

WTF in bold letters! WTF in italics!

Last year I was a little disappointed with
Alissa’s teacher. So you can guess how happy I was when we walked over to the school last weekend to see who her new teacher was going to be and found out it was the pickle lady again. But it gets worse.

My daughter’s school has put her in a combination 1st grade/2nd grade class. There are 15 first graders and 5 second graders. I guess the first grade class was short on students and the second grade class had too many students. This was their solution.

The principal let Miss Valasic hand pick the five 2nd graders that would be in her class. We feel so lucky.

Alissa thinks this is great. The other four kids were good friends of hers last year.

I think Miss Valasic handpicked 5 little teacher’s aides.

How much attention are those kids going to get in that class?

8 comments:

White Hot Magik said...

Really! Can you do anything about it?

Malathionman said...

I'm going to put her in a different school.

Anonymous said...

You know, when I was in 5th grade, just starting middle school, I was put in a bilingual classroom. Now, I am not bilingual and most of my classmates didn't speak English very well, if at all. At first my mom was concerned that the class would move too slow for me or I wouldn't get enough direct attention from the teacher. However, it ended up being a great experience for me because, quite honestly, you're only learning so much at that age, and a lot of what you are learning is social skills and such. I took such pride at helping my classmates learn and seeing them finally get it and it really opened my eyes to other cultures and backgrounds. I dunno, it was a good experience for me when all was said and done.

Now, being in a bilingual classroom isn't quite the same as being in a mixed grade class, but the concerns I think you're having were the same my mom had. Just thought I'd offer my experience in a similar situation and a different way of looking at this opportunity.

Dave said...

Hi Malathion Man,

The school my kids go to routinely combine age groups and it seems to work quite well. I think it helps that they split the class for certain lessons to ensure the teaching is appropriate to the ability of the students.

It doesn’t look like this was a great outcome for your daughter though. I read the linked post and felt bad for you on your daughters first day at school. Here’s hoping that this year is better.

Dave.

Dave said...

Ooops. Sorry about the typo on your name. It's a bit unusual, and I'm sometimes a bit lazy!

Malathionman said...

Dave/Miranda- Getting the same teacher was the first big bummer. I just don't see this combination as one that is going to challange Alissa. I also think the 15 first graders are going to require and get more of the teachers attention.

Aynde said...

I feel your pain! If you see that she is not being served well do not hesitate to find her a better fit. You know what her educational needs are and hopefully you are not hindered by school inflicted black ink and red tape.

We have moved our son into a different school this year. Last school just wasn't cutting it.

Unknown said...

Hey there M-Man (seriously, you don't expect me to try and spell that do you? I'm a movie buff and have never heard of that movie!). Anyway, have come here from Dave's and after being momentarily taken abake by that freakoid picture at the top of your blog I was drawn to your daughter's mixed class blog. My son is in exactly the same situation except it was the 10 oldest in his year is being mixed with the 15 youngest from the year above. I must admit he doesn't have the teacher from hell (the pickle lady?!) but it has caused me great anxiety and hand wringing. I'm kind of pleased that my bright little boy will be exposed to some challenging work, but like you, am also worried about how much attention the teacher will give to her lower grade charges.
Do let us know how it maps out as I would be very interested to hear.