Your thoughts on combined classes (elementary)

[tiggerlover]

I ran into the principal of DS's school today and during our conversation he mentioned that only 63 students were enrolled for the 2002-2003 school year (grades K-8) and that there was a good probability they will have combined classes. One of the combined classes will more than likely be a K/1 class, which I really am not happy about....my DS will be in 1st grade and will end up with the same teacher again as well as be with the kindergarteners. Does anyone have any experience with combined classes? Am I wrong to feel that 1st graders being combined with kindergarteners will slow down the learning process? I just feel like DS will miss out on some of his education.

 

[supercarrie]

I was placed in a combined 4th/5th grade class when I was in the 5th grade. It was the gifted and talented education class, but it ended up being that I learned NOTHING the entire year. It was basically a repeat of my 4th grade year. Although they tried to teach us the 5th grade level skills, it didn't work out at all. We ended up learning only about half of what we were supposed to - half 4th grade, which was of course a review, and half of the 5th grade skills.

My sister was in a combined 2/3 class this year, as a 2nd grader. She loved it, because she was able to get some of the 3rd grade material this year and be challenged.

I guess it depends on the quality of the instruction, but I would only like it if I was at the younger grade level in the classroom.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

As a parent and a past teacher I really did not want it for my DD when it was an option. I think for the K, it can be a plus. But for the 1st grader something is lacking. I have been in these classrooms(observing) and the kids seem to roam, doing their own work. Never seemed to be direct instruction. I talked to 2nd grade teachers who said they saw a BIG difference in children who came from a K/1. They did not know HOW to sit for direct instruction. I don't think the challenge is there for the older grade either. JMHO! Of course you will find many people who LOVE this situation. Glad it was an option for us and we declined!

 

[jsmith]

This can work very well or be horrid depending on the child and the teacher-My older DS was in an 3/4 split for both 3rd and 4th. The teacher was awesome and it worked out great-she grouped the kids according to where they were at and and let each group move at the pace they required,she also relied on parental assisantance alot.-every child and every parent in that enviroment was pleased with the result and my DS who has always been ahead of the curve never felt held back-she even ordered special materials just for him. Because it had been such a postive experience the first time I supported it for my second son with the pricipal wanted to put him into a 4/5 split-what a mistake. The teacher was organized or able to handle the classes and she taught 5th grade-if your child was a 4th grader they better be able to keep up. She was not good with individual attention or support either and did not want parental help in the classroom. When we protested at teacher conferences that we were not happy with some of the things we were seeing she informed us that the problem was that our son had poor organizational skills. For 5th I had him moved to another classroom and all the problems went away-he has also done very well in middle school-but he essentially skipped the 4th grade.
I think if you plan ahead it will be ok, but be very aware of what is happening so he does not get behind, or pushed too fast.

 

[shortbun]

Ds's school had combined classes until this coming
year. We mourn the loss of them. However, DS's
school is an "informal" school and the teachers are
trained to teach multi-age classrooms or loop. They
asked to go to total looping because it was too hard
to "teach to the proficiency tests" with multiage
rooms. We are sad but they promise they'll combine
ages in the arts and performance as well as including
many mentoring programs and other things like
clubs including all ages. I want to stress that multi-age
classes can be very good if the teacher is trained for
them and sees the advantages. If the teachers are not
happy and being forced to do this, I can see it as an
obstacle to your child's education. Good luck.
mimi

 

[nativetxn]

My ds attended a private Montessori school from age 18 months to age 10. All of his classes included cross age grouping. Montessori believes in peer teaching and it actually works well.

When he entered public school for 5th grade he was in a grade 4/5 split. The principle called and asked for Travis to be in that classroom since he was accustomed to this type of teaching atmosphere. He did great! He was in the 5th grade portion of the class and it gave him a sort of "importance" in the classroom. He loved that year of school. He did <b>very</b> well, the kids in this class became very good friends, both age groups, it was a wonderful experience for him.

Katholyn

 

[jjskribs]

My oldest son was in a 2/3 split . Everyday he would come home with an armload of drawings and paintings. He did them while the teacher was working with the third graders. So basically he worked for half of the day and drew pictures for the other half. Maybe that's why he is now an artist. ( a starving one)

 

[SJCSuzy]

My DS, 10, has been in a magnet school in our public school district. They have K/1's and 2/3's combined. It's also a parent participation school, which means each family work 2hrs in each childs classroom every week. For most of the day there are 2 parents in addition to the teacher and sometimes student teachers as well. The teachers have to be very organized to have assignments ready for all skill levels. I think it really gives a chance for students to move ahead and not be bored. They also team teach with the classroom next door, so for math, for instance, they split up to 2nds in one class 3rds in the other. We really like the approach and love having parents so involved in the childs education. Starting with 4th grade they are no longer combined because there are too many subjects that are grade level specific. Also, here in CA they have no more than 20 kids in K-3, it can go up to 35 after that. Good luck with with the upcoming school year,

 

[NHAnn]

I wanted to have my DD in a 1/2 class when she entered first grade becasue I felt she was ready for it and it would be good for her. The principal disagreed and she was in a regular first grade, then a regular second grade, and did very well academically and socially. Ironically, this same principal assigned her to a My daughter was put in a 2/3 class of about 20 children for third grade, despite my request that she be put in any of of 3 other grade 3 only classes. I expressed reservations to both the teacher and the principal, very specifically, knowing my own DD better than they did My concerns were that because she was bright and a quick learner, at the end of the year she would not be at the same place as far as proficiency in the math and reading/writing skills as she would be if she were in a regular third grade class. The teacher was quite snippy about that and stated that the objective wasn't to "get her prepared for 4th grade", it was to see how far she could get with the third grade work....and despite my trying to explain my concerns she assurred me that my DD would do just fine. I was also concerned because DD was by nature outgoing and somewhat of a social butterfly...OK, maybe a busybody and I feared that if she finished her work papers and so forth and had time left over, she would be "helping" or bossing the younger kids or just being social when I would prefer she be challenged with her schoolwork. The principal assurred me that this would be a great year for DD and that the teacher knew how to teach the multi-age class, and he really neded to do this for the "balance" of all the 3rd grade classes. Well, I decided not to make waves and to "go along" despite my reservations. DD was reprimanded on a few occasions for talking too much, but we could live with that and it never got out of hand. But my fears on the academic side were justifiable...although she got good marks all year, her class did not begin multiplication tables at all as the three other "grade 3" classes in her school did. So fourth grade math was a struggle for the first month until I sat down with that teacher and we went over what the problem was, worked up an "at home" plan of attack (flash cards mostly!) to get her caught up to speed, and by the end of the year she got an award for math performance much to her own and our delight. Unfortunately the whole experience planted an "I'm not good in math" seed in her head and it has taken considerable time to erase that preconception from her.....her 8th and 9th grade math teachers helped a lot and she just ended her sophomore year in high school with a 90 in Advanced Algebra the 4th quarter, to round out a "high honors performance" Anyway, don't mean to turn this into a brag about DD, sorry

I think you have to think about your own child's personality and development, and get a feel for the teacher and school philosophy. If the teachers are well-trained and embrace the whole concept and the classes are not large so that each child CAN be challenged to their level of capability, it would be OK. Unfortunately our experience was not positive. As you can see...it's still pretty vivid in my miond even though it was over 7 years ago!

 

[cotye]

I had a combined grade 4/5 class when I was younger. I was in grade 4 at that time. For me, I found it beneficial cause while I was working on my homework, the teacher would teach the grade 5s and I listened. I found that by the time I got to grade 5, I was actually ahead of classmates that weren't in the combined class. Dont' know if affected the grade 5 people though.