Friday, May 6, 2016

Small Group


Fridays at the continuation high school are a bit different. Looser. Students who attended Monday through Thursday can "buyout", so classes are smaller. And the students are less willing to do anything productive.

I expect smaller groups, but still I was surprised when only one student showed up for third period (out of 15). Um...

The lesson plan was one I had done before. Since class discussion was required, I figured it wouldn't work with one student. So, I gave him permission to find somewhere else to be. Until a second student arrived (late).

I could do the lesson with two students...

They were not happy with me. But I insisted. And things went better than I expected.

Turns out, it's easier to put students on the spot and make them talk when there's only two of them. At least sometimes.

24 comments:

  1. 2 students! what a weird system. glad you got to squeeze something out of it - and whether they liked it or not, they probably got more out of it this way themselves.

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  2. Not happy? You mean they don't expect to do any work at school? Just wait until they get into the real world.

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  3. I would occasionally have classes with one or two students because kids would get pulled out at the last minute for various reasons. If that happened, I just turned the class into a study hall, or maybe pulled out Scrabble or Uno or my Firefly DVDs and saved the lesson plan for the next day, because I was just going to have to do it over anyway. But, you know, I had the flexibility to make that decision.

    I can imagine that they weren't happy, so I'm glad that things went better than expected for you. :)

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  4. I think most of us find it hard to be productive on Fridays :)

    A small group of two would be easier I think to share things with; they don't have to compete with a larger crowd if they find themselves saying something "stupid."

    betty

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  5. If they had to work, why show up? To be truthful I would be one of the many who would not show because it's Friday. A more one on one does feel better and less exposure to possible ridicule later

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    1. I wonder about that myself. Many are on attendance contracts and such. So, they're forced to be there, but they do nothing.

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  6. It is crazy the rules schools have. To reward students with a day off because they came 4 out of 5 days of the week. Crazy! But, I guess they have to do what works!

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    1. All the schools in the district have one day that's shorter than the others so the teachers can meet as a group. The CHS uses Friday.

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  7. Perhaps easy Fridays are prep for the future. I worked in education, government, and non-profit, and regardless of setting, Friday's we're pretty much a free day. You showed up, but little was accomplished. Can't speak for the private sector, though.

    VR Barkowski

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  8. I never heard of buy-outs like that. Those kids were lucky - they got a private lesson. :)

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  9. Such an interaction that engaged the students!

    "Buy-outs"?

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    1. Students who have 100% attendance and are productive during Monday-Thursday can get permission to miss school on Friday with no attendance repercussions.

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    2. Wow! Wish they had done that at my schools! :)

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  10. I won't say it (although I constantly think it) how education has changed since the 1950's....well, maybe I'll say it. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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    1. This is the continuation high school. Most districts have them. Where the "bad" kids get sent. It's unique to that campus. (None of the traditional high schools do such a thing.)

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  11. Sounds like these students got a day that was probably way more productive then they expected. Three cheers for Liz!
    Barbara, blogging at Life & Faith in Caneyhead

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  12. I know I am more comfortable and more likely to participate in a smaller group.

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  13. That is so awesome that you had a "class discussion" with 2 students! I imagine they probably gained a lot more from that lesson than if there had been too many more other students in the classroom. I wonder where the other 13 students were?

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    Replies
    1. A couple bought out. A few have morning classes too, so they would have been at those. But most just ditched the day.

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