Flexing

      PDC days, days where all the teachers have meetings and therefore no kids at school, always begin with me excited for a "break" and a chance to visit with coworkers and leave me wishing we'd just had kids instead! ha! Okay, so the meetings aren't that bad really ... its just complete and total information overload. My brain starts to shut down. I get sleepy. Lots of coffee is consumed. I generally end up surviving.

      Today was no different. BUT today we did make a major decisions: we are going to attempt, try, experiment with, flexing in our 4th grade Communication Arts classes. (bring out the whistles and streamers people, this is BIG news) Our math teachers have been flexing for a while now and loving it (at least mostly!). Math and Comm Arts/ELA are very, very different. And, they demand very different approaches. I can preach you a whole sermon on it. But, in an effort to always do "what's best for kids" we decided today we should jump (at least temporarily) on this bandwagon and give it a fair shake since it seems to be working for other people.

      Flexing is when students are grouped by ability - since there are 3 fourth grade CA teachers, we will have 2 high groups, 2 medium groups, and 2 low groups. The idea behind this is you can really give each group what they need -- more self driven things for your "high flyers", more broken down and teacher led things for those that struggle. Give kids things on the level they are at so that they can excel more.

      I really struggle with this idea. In my own classroom, I do some things (lit circles) by level. That gives me an opportunity to have kids reading books that are on their own level with other peers who can also read those books. But, for most things, I like mixed-ability grouping. This gives low kids a chance to learn from a high kid, and higher kids a chance to learn to work with lower kids AND deepen their own understanding by explaining things. Kids need the opportunity to learn from each other. They need to have deep and meaningful discussions together. When you flex between classes you can still mix within your own group a little bit, but its much more limited. It might be good -- maybe some of the "lower kids" will emerge as leaders in a different group/mix of kids. Maybe it will backfire on us.

      The nice thing is we are trying this for our next unit -- if it doesn't work, we just won't do it again! Simple as that! If it flops, we'll go back to doing things they way we have been. If it works, then that's just peachy too.

       The terrifying things for me? I'm going to have "the low group". Which I am ... apprehensive about. Can I give them what they need? Can I break things down enough? Can I challenge them without overwhelming them? Can I find a balance between "teacher led" and "student driven" that will suit the group? Can I maintain structure in a group that "potentially" has some not so splendid behaviors? Am I really ready to re-tackle the "beginning of the year" teaching of rules and expectations in my classroom? Will I be a good co-teaching partner for Mrs. P (our SpEd inclusion teacher) since I've never co-taught before? How many parent phone calls will I have to field as students and parents question why they have a new Comm Arts teacher? Will the kids that I won't have any more adjust quickly to a different teachers room? Will they be as awesome for another teacher as they have been for me?

        It is seriously like the beginning of the year all over again. Only maybe worse because this time I know what I am getting in to ... eeek!

        So we'll see how it goes. I'm excited. I'm apprehensive. I'm glad we're trying it. I'm scared we won't like it. I'm relieved we can start by calling it "temporary" for 1 unit, 1 quarter, or 1 year until we decide if we want it to be permanent or not. I'm just a bundle of emotions. Which is actually causing quite the pit in my stomach!

      Mostly I am thankful to be part of a team of teachers who are willing and excited to always try to do what is best for kids. No matter how much work it is for us. I'm thankful the ladies I work with will be willing to help me on this new venture. I'm thankful they will be willing to re-evaluate and change things if they don't work. I'm thankful they will be non-judgmental when I mess up and when I ask for help ... because trust me, I will.

       It's a giant leap off the deep end. It's a crazy experiment. It's an adventure. It's a test of what I believe as an educator. It's done in the name of finding "What's best for kids". If it is best for them, it will be wonderful. If its not, we won't do it for long.

        Hopefully I'll get some sleep between now and then. I'm thinking I'll need it!

What are your thoughts on flexing?