MANY excellent teachers are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted with the demands of planning, differentiating, assessing,and documenting growth (or lack of) for children who's needs go beyond the resources of a regular ed classroom. We know we can't possibly meet the needs of all these children, even if we could clone ourselves, and it is simply not fair to them if we quietly acquiesce and not scream for a better plan. Perhaps what this teacher really needs is for her colleagues to show that they understand these expectations are extremely unrealistic and that you will support her in concrete ways rather than recommending research or critiquing her teaching methods. After all, they are all of our students, not just hers. Even more, perhaps the best thing you can do is to let her know that you know she is doing a good job. The current burn out of dedicated, wonderful teachers is a reflection of the current state of educational "reforms" and the naivete of the political bureaucrats initiating them. Putting ELL, Autistic, SPED, and now even remedial kids into a classroom with little or no support leads to failure for everyone, including the teacher.
I am sorry to be so down but this really hits a nerve. Today's RTI meeting was unbelievable. We have a great staff of dedicated, caring, professionals yet we are numbed by the expectations and the lack of support available. We will take a deep breath and do our darnest, but nobody really believes this is in the best interests of our children. Please, oh please, isn't it time for the pendulum to swing again??? -----Original Message----- From: Hillary Marchel <march...@hawthorn73.org> To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group <mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> Sent: Wed, Aug 25, 2010 8:23 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Ell Students Thank you for your reply. I probably was not clear in my first email. I was not looking for research. I was looking for articles that would build her confidence specific to other schools or teachers who have had success with ELL students in their schools or classrooms. This teacher instructs using all the best practices that you mention. She is an excellent teacher. So you can imagine my surprise and disappointment. I believe she is feeling overwhelmed and I can understand that but her proposal to put her ELL's in a classroom separate from her other students was very disappointing. Hillary Marchel Reading Specialist Hawthorn Elementary North march...@hawthorn73.org We can take some gratification at having come a certain distance but it should be a deeper satisfaction, even an exhilaration, to recognize that we have such a distance still to go. --LEWIS THOMAS On Aug 25, 2010, at 5:10 PM, casey1...@aol.com wrote: > > Hi, > I probably am looking at the situation differently than you, but, I do not > think sharing research in that they are all of our responsibility will > affect the situation. > > I believe you are referring to homogeneous vs. heterogeneous grouping of > students. > What is leading the teacher to view instruction in this manner? Could it > be that the teacher does not know how or feels insecure in teaching ELL > students? Does he/she feel it would delay the progress of the other > students? > Could it be that the teacher does not differentiate instruction or know how > to use the students’ strengths and weaknesses in a lesson? Maybe this > teacher does not know how to work with a colleague in a push-in program. These > are just a few possibilities. > I hope this has given you a helpful way to approach the situation. > Casey > > In a message dated 8/25/2010 5:13:55 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > march...@hawthorn73.org writes: > > Is there an article I can reference specifying the importance of teaching > all the students in our classrooms. I have a teacher who wants to put all > the ELL students in one room and have another teacher support them. My goal > is for her and many other teachers to understand that as teachers working > with ELL students in our classroom, although it may be difficult, they are > all of OUR children. TEACH THEM AND THEY WILL LEARN! PLEASE HELP. Thanks > > Hillary Marchel Reading Specialist > Hawthorn Elementary North > march...@hawthorn73.org > We can take some gratification at having come a certain distance but it > should be a deeper satisfaction, even an exhilaration, to recognize that we > have such a distance still to go. > --LEWIS THOMAS > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. Man _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
