Job Discussion Forums

[johnslat]

Dear Chancellor,
I'll PM you.
Regards,
John

[Chancellor]

[johnslat]

Dear Chancellor,

8:45-9:15 morning routine
9:15-10:10 writer's workshop, snack
10:15-10:55 drama/art/media/music/PE
10:55-11:15 morning meeting
11:15-12:20 literary work stations/reading groups
12:20-12:50 lunch
12:50-1:10 bathroom break and read-aloud
1:10-1:55 science/ss/math/elective (Spanish)
2:50-3:30 snack and recess

"If I were doing the schedule, I might be inclined to do smaller breaks throughout the day, extend the lunch period to include recess, and put the afternoon snack somewhere in between the science and the other afternoon coursework."

I think everything you mentioned, except for "smaller breaks throughout the day" would be fine. The only reason I'd hesitate to use smaller breaks throughout the day is that, as any Head Start/KG/1st grade teacher would likely attest, "transition periods", such as those smaller breaks, are the most difficult parts of the school day for both teachers and very young students.
Regards,
John

[Chancellor]

[johnslat]

Dear Chancellor,

" . . . attention spans also tend to be short at that age."

Whoa, is that ever true. However, it depends on how the classes are structured. I found it impossible to do any kind of "traditional teaching" (i.e.
present/ask for response) at the earlier ages. But if you set up good materials and get the kids working on their own (just hovering about in case anyone gets "stuck"), it's amazing how focused those kids can be for long periods of time.
Regards,
John

[Vanica]

Isn't the only teaching being done for one hour a day, according to that schedule? The pupils' latest arrival is at 9:15 am, so nothing goes on before that. Then they have the flag stuff for a very long time. Then snack.

I only see one period with reading instruction, and one part-time period in the afternoon which is math or elective.

[dynow]

Hello All,

I am very interested in going to NC to teach.

Has anyone been through the NCTeach summer program? I'd be curious as to what it entails, how much work/time will be involved, etc.

thanks in advance.

[dynow]

I would also be really interested if anyone has done the NCTeach II program, the high needs area program.

[Vanica]

Finally had a meeting with the teacher, who brought along some others. It was very unsettling. At one point, they asserted psychological issues -- but indirectly, referring to another child that they were reminded of, and leading to a discussion more absurd than a Samuel Beckett play.

Since one of them was particularly heavy, she shall hereafter be known as Rhinoc�ros.

We didn't go to school today and when I looked up again how to withdraw or declare homeschooling, the info seems to say it is not required before 7 years of age. Cannot write anymore because I have to homeschool now.

Thanks for everything.

By the way, Rhino is from New York. I wonder about the motivations of the expats here.

[Chancellor]

[Vanica]

They asked me if I had a library of age-appropriate reading material at home. There were many non-sequiturs.

Rhino also stated that NC was lightyears more advanced than NY and that NC's standards were much higher. That's funny because I just received a letter stating that the entire district was two or more years behind national standards.

Anyhow, it was really a waste of my breath and I could see them picking up little words and phrases to add to their arsenal against me. All that effort could have gone to an ESL intervention or maybe two throughout the whole year! Or just a hour or two doing some research about bilingualism on the internet!

Is it true that we can simply not attend and because she is six there will be no knock on the door?

That reminds me. I talked about a child who was a talented artist, but dropped out of the school, and instead of thinking for a moment about the implications of a talented child leaving the school over language issues, Rhino's eyes lit up and she said she was calling the police first thing in the morning.

Here's a good study mentioning Latino discrimination in the schools of the South.
http://www.trpi.org/PDFs/nls.pdf

[rusmeister]