We overlapped, Dottie.

What kind of group work? I'm intrigued.

I won't try

I'm glad things are working out so well for you guys.
Well, good night all, DH just came home and we are tivo-ing lost and we need to go watch it!

That's where I'm headed, too! Off to get "Lost!"

This was my take on K-5th...I really haven't been in the classrooms much after that.

I'm off to bed...I'll have to ask the kids more about the group work stuff, but they do lots of things with their "tables" (groups of 4), "elbow partners" (2), etc. There is a lot done independently too, and while our schools aren't the greatest by any stretch, "lack of interaction during the school day" is NOT a weak point by far from my observation.

DS had tons of interaction all through grade school. In K and 1st, there were no desks, kids sat in groups at tables and worked together on projects and were encouraged to talk with each other as they worked. If they weren't talking enough, one of my jobs as a volunteer was to go to the quiet table and stimulate them into talking.

DS's 4th and 5th grade teachers were great managers of classroom discussion and really the classroom felt more like an ongoing conversation between the teacher and the kids than just managing kids behaviour. When I volunteered in 4th grade, I led a book discussion group and we really did discuss. All the kids spoke, had ideas, and riffed off each other. They weren't brilliant or anything, but they certainly were not stifled spirits!

What Kriston and Neato are describing sound absolutely nothing like our school. But then, remember, our isn't a very good school. Nobody moves to be in our district. The parents don't care what kind of college their kids go to or even if they go to college. I think this gives the school a lot more flexibility!

Hi Kriston,

I actually had help from my dd on this one as parents are not in the classroom a lot.

She told me they have plenty of interaction with one another. They always have group projects and are allowed to do "research" as a group. They also read to each other and with each other everyday.

Her room 2 teacher allows them to go outside the classroom and do their silent reading on benches right outside their classroom when it is a nice day.

They don't have individual tables but rather work on group tables. They have a lot of interaction specially in science and art. Their drama and music classes also offer great opportunities for interaction. There are still times when they need to sit quietly and listen to the teacher, but I don't think it is the majority of their day.

I forgot to mention intellectual peers as well....I just learned of another kid that tested GT, and another that "just missed". I truly wouldn't be surprised to learn that 1/3 or more of our kids are in the 120+ range for IQ. Maybe not that high....but there are quite a few "close" intellectual peers, particularly for my girls.

Kriston - my K and 1 experiences are similar to what you saw. We had class sizes of 24 and 26. I get the feeling the past couple months DS doesn't even bother raising his hand any more because he gets so little chance to participate. There is little to no group work except for special events (like the do have 4th grade buddies they meet up with once a month or so). It definitely seems like the focus is behavior management. I think it might be a whole different ball game with 5-10 less kids in the class. Interaction is definitely limited to recess, lunch. And misbehavior in class!

I even observed music class one day and it was incredibly quiet and non-interactive. Our school is very popular. They got enough applications for 7 kindergarten classes next year, but only have room for 3 classes.

And bianc - how much do we need to DOK?

I was also going to say, I think our school is similar to Dottie's in terms of intellectual peers. 40% of kids are probably in that above 120 range. DS loves school socially. He is a popular kid.

It has taken me a long time to get over this denial about where DS stands. Everyone talks about how advanced curriculum is at our school and to me it doesn't seem advanced at all and we could use a whole lot more. Obviously, many GT kids are being served well here.