More Movement in Schools
Being my first blog, please forgive if it seems amateur! I am an afterschool teacher currently studying to be an elementary school teacher. It seems to me that if a school is overcrowded, like the one I am at, that there is less play and less interactive study than at a school with fewer students. This may be an obvious observation but none the less it needs attention. Students suffer in more ways than one when it comes to having larger class sizes. I feel like teachers don't think they can have "controlled" chaos in their classrooms if there are too many students. They feel the need to assign book work, where the children stay in their desks all day and rarely do interactive work, whether on the computer or in centers, or another form of "play" learning. I have also noticed that the less funding a school has the more likely it is that they will have overcrowding. So, when there is no funding or a low income area, not only do you have overcrowding but you also have students that get no special experiences at home or at school as they are constantly doing book work in school or homework at home.
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I see overcrowding too!
I totally agree. I substitute and can see exactly what you are talking about. Overcrowded schools are such a problem! The teachers feel that if a “door” is open for movement or a chance for the student’s to get loud or active then the class is out of control. It is hard to be a teaching professional in our overcrowded schools it seems like its just one more object in the way of our student’s education. Even now when new schools are built more times than not a trailer is added when the doors open to the NEW school. It is very frustrating but on the other hand so many teachers do find a way to get creative and I guess eventually we will all need to be prepared for whatever may come our way; fire, vandalism, whatever, we never know.
Thanks for your post.
controled chaos
I too think that it is important to have moment in the class. It is not healthy to sit at your seat all day. Children appreciate teachers that give them time to move around and do movement activities. Sometimes, it I think it can be helpful in keeping behavior under control in class when you have controlled chaos. When students can move around and let go of some of there energy they can be more focused. Children learn through their play. Fun games and activities that are out of the regular routine can be just the stimulus a child may need.
More moving
I have notice what you are saying. I recently graduated from high school (1.5 years ago) and just comparing high schools in Pitt County (where I attend a high school). The schools that had more funding were the ones that had less students or were bid enough for the students that they had. The ones with little funding had too many teaching.
Another interesting point is that the schools with little funding and too many people, had the better teachers. These schools had the better teachers and by this I mean the teachers who cared more and in return this care turned into more enthusiasm in learning.
If you did not figure it out that this was the kind of school that I went to. I was amazed that the size of the classroom and I was interested in learning what the teacher taught (along with other students interest). I do believe that I was lucky to get the better teachers in the school. I do believe that it is lucky of me to have had a school so small and classes so big, but it is not the usual case all over the United States.
Controlled Chaos
I agree that with larger class size forces teachers to think they have to assign desk work, and I'm glad to see you also believe teachers should be able to teach a controlled chaos large type class.
Funding! Funding! Funding!
As usual there is yet another school related probelm related to the government funding for our public schools. Your blog is quite truthful and I feel as if that is the way that schools can be changed. It has been proven time and time again that large class sizes contribute to a lack of learning for the students. By having smaller and more intimate class sizes the students will be able to learn more efficiently. One solution I can think of is if the government provides more money toward schools we would be able to build more schools in areas giving the students more options in choosing schools.
Remember: A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have (-Barry Goldwater)