Did they account for teachers being more likely to loop if they have a good class?
Benefits of ‘looping’ kids with teachers for multiple years
21–30 of 142 posts
Re: Benefits of ‘looping’ kids with teachers for multiple years
#22Wait, when did this stop being the norm?
My district stopped it a few years ago because teachers complained that "it was too hard to learn to teach both third and fourth grade" (and so they wanted to only teach a single grade). I've never been a professional elementary school teacher, but that doesn't seem to be a Herculean task.
Many school districts require "lesson plans" to be submitted for darn near everything, and it is much easier to just recycle the same pile of lesson plans each year than actually create new ones.
I suspect much of the "lesson plan" submission stuff is TPS-level busywork.
Re: Benefits of ‘looping’ kids with teachers for multiple years
#23This seems like a practice that would work for some students and hurt others. Some students may not do well with a particular teacher. Being stuck for years with that teacher is a disservice to the student.
Ideally there would be more than one option.
Re: Benefits of ‘looping’ kids with teachers for multiple years
#24Wait, when did this stop being the norm?
My district stopped it a few years ago because teachers complained that "it was too hard to learn to teach both third and fourth grade" (and so they wanted to only teach a single grade). I've never been a professional elementary school teacher, but that doesn't seem to be a Herculean task.
The teacher has to adapt to the curriculum, develop material for it that suits the students and their own teaching styles. All while teaching kids all day. This consumes a lot of time, and is incredibly mentally taxing.
Re: Benefits of ‘looping’ kids with teachers for multiple years
#25No post body was provided.
Re: Benefits of ‘looping’ kids with teachers for multiple years
#26My brother had this opportunity in a public elementary school. "Mrs. F" was the teacher for the same group of students for 2 or 3 consecutive years. It was very much an experiment, but by all accounts it was a success.
I recognize that this is just an anecdote, and there is the potential to get stuck with a bad teacher as other commenters have pointed out, but at least in his case, it was an overwhelmingly positive experience. I wish that I'd had the same opportunity.
The class formed an especially close bond with each other and the teacher, and that led to some really unique extracurricular activities. At that age, parents are often still very involved in their children's education, and Mrs. F was able to form relationships with the parents as well, allowing the class and their families to go on special weekend camping trips, visit museums, participate in science competitions, among other things.
Years later, many of them still keep in touch, and I think just about everyone involved went on to higher education, many at very prestigious schools.
Re: Benefits of ‘looping’ kids with teachers for multiple years
#27My intuition is that it'd be great for good teachers who match decently with their students, but borderline outright abusive with a bad teacher or students with a major teacher mismatch.
Re: Benefits of ‘looping’ kids with teachers for multiple years
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
That one student should be able to switch to a different group. If all want to switch then there's a problem with the instructor. Let's look at the opposite end of the spectrum. Student loves an instructor but is needlessly switched to someone new. My point though is that the flexibility to change or stay in the same group should exist.
Tried this. Was not allowed to switch because it would cause an uneven class size. At least, that's what I was told the policy was for.
It's probably true; schools are generally run for the benefit and convenience of teachers, not students. The former have a strong union with outsized influence on local elections, whereas the latter don't even vote. The same incentives lead to early school start times which help teachers at the cost of students (particularly teenagers who generally have 'later' circadian rhythms).
Re: Benefits of ‘looping’ kids with teachers for multiple years
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
My district stopped it a few years ago because teachers complained that "it was too hard to learn to teach both third and fourth grade" (and so they wanted to only teach a single grade). I've never been a professional elementary school teacher, but that doesn't seem to be a Herculean task.
Many school districts require "lesson plans" to be submitted for darn near everything, and it is much easier to just recycle the same pile of lesson plans each year than actually create new ones. I suspect much of the "lesson plan" submission stuff is TPS-level busywork.
> I suspect much of the "lesson plan" submission stuff is TPS-level busywork.
Yes and no. The submission part is certainly pointless. No one reads them after the day they're used.
But having a plan each day is kind of important and well supported by data as a beneficial practice.
Source: Escaped Teacher.
Re: Benefits of ‘looping’ kids with teachers for multiple years
#30Standard in Waldorf schools. The first-grade teacher follows her/his class all the way up to 8th grade. As the students grow, so does the teacher. All the advantages -- and disadvantages -- that you might imagine.
But even in non Waldorf schools, it’s common to have the same teacher for the first 4 years, sometimes longer.
At least it’s common here, in East Germany.
I also think it is kind of important that it is this way, because kids learn FOR their teacher. A positive relationship must come first. Of course conflicts can happen. If this is the case and parents feel their children don’t grow to their full potential there are lot of ways to resolve the conflicts.