tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post6343000678156289946..comments2024-03-27T05:08:05.064-07:00Comments on With A Brooklyn Accent: Time to Chuck the Small Schools Movement- A Commentary by Bronx Teacher Aixa RodriguezMark Naisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00610048248462814950noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-44141293742547072502015-11-02T16:56:09.933-08:002015-11-02T16:56:09.933-08:00Goa Board SSC Date Sheet
Chhattisgarh Board 10th D...<a href="http://www.apnaeducation.com/datesheet/goa-board-ssc-date-sheet/" rel="nofollow">Goa Board SSC Date Sheet</a><br /><a href="http://www.apnaeducation.com/datesheet/chhattisgarh-board-10th-time-table/" rel="nofollow">Chhattisgarh Board 10th Date Sheet</a><br /><a href="http://www.apnaeducation.com/datesheet/jac-10th-time-table-date-sheet/" rel="nofollow">Jharkhand Board 10th Time Table</a><br />Kuldeephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18250302764415145473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-25436415854466906942015-05-28T13:31:56.960-07:002015-05-28T13:31:56.960-07:00I have recently been working on an art/music proje...I have recently been working on an art/music project where I call up teachers and administrators in NYC public schools. It is interesting that Riverdale Bronx (a wealthier neighborhood) doesn't have the same level of "small school" menagerie... MS 141 is still more or less in one piece.But where do they go to high school??<br /><br /> Then when you get more into the Kingsbridge neighborhood, it is back to the Walton "campus" sliced into 5 schools. Small school "theme schools" are even creeping into Middle School and k-5 grade. How can you put a 1st grader into an "Environmental Science school"?? Really bad and weird.Howiecopywriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13260369375687563304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-65395440999819664412015-02-08T19:37:58.965-08:002015-02-08T19:37:58.965-08:00High school students, and even many (if not most) ...High school students, and even many (if not most) college students change their career choices based on courses they take just because they sound interesting, or courses out of their primary major/track. Limiting their exposure to different subject areas limits life choices for many years. In addition, it is fascinating to discover how two seemingly disparate courses relate to each other. When I was an undergraduate, I attended a college with eight week "terms." A full class load was two courses. I realized at one point that no matter which two courses I took--perhaps business and history, or sociology and literature--there was always some connection. This "aha! moment" opened up an entire world to me. I continue to benefit from seeing how the world is connected in some highly unusual ways. The small schools movement adversely affects our human development.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15323605251782621832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-38723469844150931002015-02-07T16:18:06.807-08:002015-02-07T16:18:06.807-08:00Thank you for this. I've been there and back (...Thank you for this. I've been there and back (now retired) and can attest to both the large comprehensive high school, the "zoned" community school, the small school developed on it's own to address specific needs or population(s), and the "small school movement" which displaced and destroyed the zoned, community schools - not just the "large" high schools but later on middle/intermediate schools, broken up into "mini" themed schools, and the legacy of so-called "school choice" which now impacts every single child in the the NYC public school system, from K-12: a complete scam. Parents have no idea what is being done to their children in the name of "reform" - there is no choice. Your child is being chosen; you are not in any way "choosing" the school. It's a crime and the ACLU should get involved and stop this corruption of public schools - no longer in the interest of the "public" and our neediest children. catt55https://www.blogger.com/profile/16288948632081507818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-22489791945923537332015-02-07T13:14:01.412-08:002015-02-07T13:14:01.412-08:00aixa, you are totally on point. when i worked at a...aixa, you are totally on point. when i worked at a small school in the bronx, i was appalled by how many students with special needs did not receive the appropriate services. we basically tailored the ieps to the school, not to the student. if we didn't have the service or support, then it didn't go on the iep, even if the student needed it. <br />small schools usually lack access to OT and PT, and, at least at the small school where i worked, counseling services are basically non-existent. there's a problem when students who are classified as ED are spending their counseling sessions playing board games and eating snacks. it's an extra burden on special ed teachers when they are the ones who are providing ad hoc counseling sessions to students during class because the kids can't function otherwise.<br />any time i pushed for a student to have modified work, i was shot down by admin and other gen ed teachers. when i attempted to suggest co-taught classes or to provide me with the work in advance so i could modify it myself, no one was interested. it's understandable - with only a couple of teachers per department, it IS really daunting to even consider tailoring an assignment to one student. but these kids are entitled to certain accommodations, modifications, services, and support; otherwise, they wouldn't be considered special ed. it's a disservice to students who already are behind and struggling to place them in schools that are also lacking.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01160888988401637412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-12255224769053193242015-02-07T12:52:25.891-08:002015-02-07T12:52:25.891-08:00There is no room for school models that have an im...There is no room for school models that have an impact on the other types. If you are calling for choice, then the reality is the budgetary issues and space and facilities issues, and the population density issues all must be taken into consideration. The small schools I am talking about are the smalls schools initiated under the small schools movement promoted by Bill Gates. Schools that happen to be small are not subject the same caps on student enrollment and are still larger than 400 students. If they exist in their own building and have all the support systems then they are just not as big but in no way are they a "small school" in the sense I am referring to with shared campuses etc. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13491569918181252529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-78325386071808249592015-02-07T12:41:15.293-08:002015-02-07T12:41:15.293-08:00I don't think you can generalize. I think ther...I don't think you can generalize. I think there is a difference between small schools that are carved from a big school that is deemed to be failing and other small schools. The one I teach at has been around since the early 1980s. There are other schools that are small that are excellent. Over generalizing about small schools is like saying all large schools are bad. Call me an idealist if you will but I think there is room in the system for schools of different sizes and that is the kind of choices that should be offered to families.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05272846704943957389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-52260677061108156922015-02-07T11:17:03.217-08:002015-02-07T11:17:03.217-08:00The small schools model is unsustainable and insti...The small schools model is unsustainable and institutionalizes a lack of choice for families and students. When almost every large high school building is taken over by 5 or 6 small schools and the remaining large schools are overwhelmed with students and the school begins to "fail" and gets slated for closure and "turn around" there is no choice. Changing school culture and creating internal systems is not the same as controlling for size. Every student deserves to be taught by teachers who have colleagues to mentor them, a strong department that develops a consistent curriculum under the guidance of experts with mastery in their field. Small schools don't have big budgets and principals are encourages to hire more young untenured teachers with less experience because they cost less and they will do more in the hopes of getting tenure. High salaries cannot be sustained on a small and limited budget. This is a fact. The core teachers become important and all the other subjects and classes that make a well rounded person ready for the world and secure in their own selves are relegated to nonessential. The libraries in the colocated campus buildings become neglected, or are used for meetings more than research. I have worked at several small schools in different campuses. Evander, Roosevelt, Monroe and now Lehman. Its the same at each one. Fighting over facilities, students unable to take classes that a school one floor down offers. I am sorry to say but this is NOT OKAY. Any student being discriminated against and denied what they need is NOT OKAY. Families being told they have "choice" when it is all a sham is NOT OKAY. When the very same small school model with all its budgetary spending limits, color coded hallways and faux private school trappings is exported to Scarsdale, and the parents scream hooray, then maybe I will be convinced. Until then I see a particular population targeted for such EdDeforms, with the accompanied discrimination and a lot of well meaning, heart on their sleeves, neo-liberals trying to justify an initiative that has failed. Note, it was MY STUDENTS who brought up the injustice to me when I was a fresh faced idealist teacher in 2005, who believed in small schools, charters and choice. I didn't get here to where I am without battle scars. I have seen several small schools in the Bronx, and spoken to many a veteran teacher and ATRs. We need a system that works for all kids. If the small schools are unsustainable and have an impact on the large schools, if the charter schools routinely release students who end up in public schools, if teacher turn over is such that schools become disposable then those different strokes aren't working.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13491569918181252529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-73098634415957928302015-02-07T10:41:05.314-08:002015-02-07T10:41:05.314-08:00I agree with many of your points, and I teach at a...I agree with many of your points, and I teach at a relatively small school. I think that there needs to be a range of sizes of school--from small to large. However, if the thought or bias is toward all small schools, then there will not be sufficient sources for larger schools and that is a problem. <br /><br />I think there needs to be a range of sizes because different kids and parents want different things. There is a close knitness to a small school that a large one doesn't have (and while I teach in a small school, my daughter went to a large school and I think it was the best thing for her). They are fishbowls and some kids need that. Others don't. I think it is an overstatement to say that kids can never get what they need at a small school (especially kids with IEPs), because ours, by and large do. We work very hard at that. You're right, however, that there are limited elective and such. But I think you go a little too far. There are a number of badly run small schools, but we are not all like that. That being said, as I stated, there is a usefulness in having a selection of different schools. My daughter, after elementary school, never wanted to go to a small school. She went to Baruch Middle School and then Edward R. Murrow High School. Murrow is a great school with tons of offerings and it was great for her. But I have known kids for whom it did not work--who should have gone to a smaller school. Different strokes.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05272846704943957389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248065179634488001.post-85292575949632172162015-02-07T09:26:32.900-08:002015-02-07T09:26:32.900-08:00"Restoration movement"? You whistling Di..."Restoration movement"? You whistling Dixie?Mike Klonskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02017021676773731024noreply@blogger.com