summa-time and the living is easy

Summer is finally upon us, and I have vowed to write more. Yesterday was my last day at school and I am preparing for a wonderful summer. This school year has been a huge blessing. I got to teach 28 second graders with my friend Megan. I learned a lot and developed an even stronger passion for the title one school in which I teach. One of my biggest frustrations about teaching this year was my class size. It is unethical to take 28 kids who live in poverty, already live in tight quarters, barely get any attention from home, and shove them all into one classroom. At first I thought it would be manageable. There were two of us in there, after all. That boils down to a 14 to 1 student to teacher ration. Which isn't all that bad. Unless that ratio exists inside the confines of one classroom. What I learned about this setup is:

1. The more adults there are in a room, the more the students will fight for attention. If one adult doesn't respond, they will go to the other. And if that one doesn't, then they simply go nuts. They are fighting an uphill battle against 27 other students and 2 teachers.

2. Ideally, with 2 teachers, you would imagine that one teacher teaches while the other one gets to assist with the learning process. NOPE! What actually ends up happening is that one teacher teaches while the other is trying desperately to prevent, stop, and deal with negative behaviors. While that teacher is now calling a parent, or writing a referral, the other teacher is trying to somehow get 27 students to simply listen. 27 students, mind you, who have a variety of learning disabilities and attention difficulties due to their quality of life.

3. Finally, I have been shocked at how many students just fall below the radar in such a large class size. The well-behaved students are hardly noticed b/c of the large number of students who misbehave. The students who are needing additional academic help are sometimes overlooked in a lesson b/c it is so difficult to watch all 28 students, guage their level of academic ability, and respond, all within one lesson.

So...all this to say, I hope and pray that I can one day have an ethical class size in a title one school. A class size that allows me to meet the needs of all my students, love on them equally, and not let a single one fall between the cracks. Isn't that what no child left behind should really be all about? Ensuring that schools like mine have the funds necessary to have the smallest class sizes possible so that each child truly receives a fair education?

Numero Uno

Now that we live in Richmond and don't get to see all of our B'ham and Nashvegas friends/family, we thought we'd start a blog so that we can still be a part of your lives. Mainly because we STILL miss everyone so much. Richmond has been amazing, surprisingly enough. We've just recently bought a house in the city and it's so much fun. Cristy's job at school has improved by leaps and bounds. Eric is 1/2way through seminary (yipee!). Despite how much we love it here, we are still counting down the days until Christmas break when we get to see you all again. Could it come any slower?????