Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Educational "Looping" On The Rise
According to Alan Finder in today's New York Times a trend is developing in which the same teacher stays with students 2 years in a row.
PermaLink | 6:04 AM |
|
Having a teacher stay with a class for more than a year - or looping, as it is known - is on the rise, according to many experts. As educational innovations go, it is remarkably simple. So are its benefits, proponents say. Teachers get to know their students, and the students' parents, extremely well. They know each child's strengths and weaknesses, and the children know the teachers' expectations and methods. This familiarity can save a lot of time at the beginning of the school year.I don't know if you remember, but this is done at the Earth School where my daughter works in New York City. I think it works great if your kid gets a good teacher. But if he or she has a bad one the situation is horrible. And in most traditional public schools if you as a parent try to have your child moved from one class to another you are looked at as a trouble maker.
There is little hard data on the frequency or effectiveness of looping, but classes in hundreds, if not thousands of schools across the United States have adopted it.
PermaLink | 6:04 AM |
| 
