Feb 18 2009
The Classroom Visit
As I promised the district, I went to visit the class they’ve been trying to convince me to transfer Gus to. I had spoken to the teacher at length last week. On the positive side, she is very knowledgeable, has a diverse background, and we see eye to eye on many important topics like mainstreaming and homework. But we also have some core philosophical differences, which could become a problem like the use of candy as a reinforcer.
I spent a good hour in the in the class. At the moment, the class is quite small. Next year it is expected to more than double in size. Class size was always a concern of mine since it would be bigger than what Gus is accustomed to. The room is set up to be very open, which I think would be very distracting for Gus, but she has a primarily behavioral outlook (Applied Behavioral Analysis background) and believes that his behavior would just have to be modified. I don’t know that it is a) possible or b) totally desirable to do that in all instances. There would be less sensory support for Gus as well, and there would be no internet capability. So the learning program he’s using now would be out the window.
Academically, this class focuses on much more basic skills than what Gus needs, and there is very little emphasis on Social Studies or Science - his two favorite subjects. She does have a very interesting take on Math instruction, which I plan to do some looking into. Overall, I doubt his academic needs would be met, and he’d be bored stiff.
As much as I like the teacher, despite our differing opinions, I can’t see Gus succeeding or being happy in that class. I’m going to bring him in next week (he’ll be out of school anyway) just to see what he thinks of the room. But I’m about 99% sure that I’ll be fighting for him to stay in his current school next year. Either that, or I become a home-schooler.
