I have a son who was lucky enough to have a teacher who changed assignments
one year, and "looped" with him (1st and 2nd grades) -- it was a marvelous
experience, and I have nothing but good things to say. In fact, it was
the
year afterwards, in 3rd grade, with a new teacher, that she did not watch
him closely enough and he didn't connect with her, and he started ditching
math homework. Very unfortunately, it was his multiplication tables. I
was
the one who finally caught it. It took a year and a half of tutoring at
Sylvan to catch up. And it took until this year, in 7th grade, after my
serendipitous conversation with his new Jr. High math teacher about his
personal history in math, until he connected with a teacher who really
cared
and helped him to understand and love the subject again.
I believe I have read that one of our neighboring metro districts in Des
Moines called the Downtown School permanently uses the looping concept you
are interested in, however. The Downtown School is a fascinating concept
in
general -- it encourages diversity, proximity to parents (many are
professionals who work downtown), and other cutting edge concepts in
education. There is a long waiting list of students who would like a
chance
to study at this public school. (Iowa has an open enrollment policy, where
any child from any district can apply to attend any other public school
other than the one in their "boundaries"). My information is based on my
memory of an article I remember reading in the newspaper 2 or 3 years ago,
but contact the school for more information -- I'm sure they'd be
delighted
to help you with more information for your research:
http://www.downtownschool.org/
Jan
<hilarymanley@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:1146623942.134701.125280@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>I really enjoyed your post. I am a currently studying to become an
> elementary school teacher, and I have learned that home life greatly
> impacts school life. It sounds as though you have a strong and loving
> relation****p with your child. That makes me smile.
>
> I am wondering though, if you could tell me more about your child's
> experience with a "looped" teacher. I read a great book about an early
> educational system in Italy, where they use that practice. The book
> was written about an entire region, and so the information they gave
> was general. I was hoping to hear about any personal experiences you
> or your child may have had with this. Were there initial struggles?
> Do you feel the connection helped your child? In which ways? Do you
> remember particular comments made by your child about her or the
> system?
>
> The aspect that I wonder about the most is the strength of the
> relation****p, and how it may affect students. I have heard criticisms
> that teachers become lenient due to an emotional attachment to the
> student, or the inverse, that children struggle because they, for
> whatever reason, are not well matched with the teacher, and suffers
> from the tension for an extended period of time.
>
> I look forward to integrating the experiences of parents into my own
> ideas. I hope to hear from you soon and thank you in advance for your
> time.
>
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