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Message board > Bad news...
Bad news...
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MarionG
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I am very lucky.... I work in a primary school. It is not a fancy private school or anything but it is considered an "alternative school �. Our regular classes are maximum 28 kids per class and since last year the English classes are only about 15-16 kids (the two homerooms mixed up and then divided into three groups plus a native speakers group). this started because one of the grades was so difficult in terms of discipline, they decided they had to "divide and rule � but the english staff managed to turn it into a precedent and now all the grades are taught this way in English. It has a price of course... we have very few hours and absolutely no resources but we are all more than willing to pay that price, smaller classes are such a blessing! In many schools here around 40 kids is normal as well.
Of course smaller classes doesn �t mean we don �t have our share of troubles, from violent negligent parents and hungry kids (not because the dress won �t fit but simply because there �s no money) to overzealous parents who will never be satisfied and smother their kids and everything in between. (and because our school is known for its very child oriented approach - without grades and tests etc. - we also have an incredibly high number of learning disabled and special needs kids in the school...) |
17 Jun 2010
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MJ_Misa
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@Jamiejules Hope your lovely son will get better soon.
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17 Jun 2010
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stexstme
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Virginie ( Jamiejules!)
Sending all my love to you & kid!
I know the wonderful teacher you are - ( to friends : Virginie & I- used to work together!!!)
I �m glad kids have you, honey!
Bless you,
Virginie, My classes in Ste Mere will be over 30 with the ... �normal � classes, & around 18/20 with our Special Needs!!!!! You �ve worked here : You understand what this means , surely!!!
I �ve been a bad friend, ( no mails, no letters!!!)  but I �m sending ALL my love! & I �m glad you �re a bloody great teacher! Sunshine!! Kids need people like you!!
Lots of love, I do hope your lovely baby will be fine! ( Let me know!)
Sylvie |
17 Jun 2010
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MJ_Misa
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In my country there might be only 14 students in classes for children with special needs. Having 18 of them must be really tough.
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17 Jun 2010
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anitarobi
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I �m on maternity leave now (as you know), but I work in a private school which gives language courses. On one hand, we will surely not have huge classes because if we did we couldn �t provide the quality we �sell �(sorry for this ugly term, but I �m just trying to get to the point), but then again - since we are not obligatory (parents pay for our classes if they choose to have their kids take them), I �m not sure who will be able to afford us in autumn... So when I go back to work, who knows if there will even be work???!!!
My son goes to the 1st grade of a state school and we just had the teacher-parents meeting yesterday and the teacher told us one of the classes will be divided so that 4-5 kids from that class join another class and 4-5 kids another, etc. I hope it �s not my son �s class, but then again - so do all the other parents. Things are definitely not looking well, but then again - when did they ever as far as education is concerned??? You should see the troubles our university students are having - just horrible. Under the pretence of modernizing the whole system, our government is introducing a new payment system, under which practically everybody will be paying for everything and it actually encourages professors to flunk students for as long as they can, and on the other hand, they �re not doing anything to improve even the slightest thing about universities themselves... I might as well start saving money for my baby girl �s education right now, because by the time she goes to the 1st grade of elementary school, we �ll surely have to pay a lot for that too...
Hm, hm... I wonder where all the taxes are going... |
17 Jun 2010
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stexstme
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Michaela,
I �m teaching 7 hours /a week of Special needs : 18/20 pupils per class. ( Some with heavy handicap : eg : One is blind, one cannot speak... = Heavy handicaps! )
.....
Thank you Mr Sarkozy.....!!!!  No more nurses, no more Psy help! ( money cuts.) In the French �Law � there should be only 13 pupils per class ... Just to let you know what is going on here....
PS2 : If you ever heard of the French Revolutionists, I �m one of them.
Just to let you know.
I do hope - some day - people will wake up.
No smileys, no jokes. No tears either. I �m a ...fighter ...! for my wonderful kids  Bless you all. |
17 Jun 2010
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MJ_Misa
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Dear Sylvie,
I believe things will get better one day (I am not only sure if I will be alive by then;o). I admire you. I have 12 hours a week with children suffering dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD syndrome, some autistic children but I have max. 13 in the class. And it is hard sometimes, so I really admire you if you manage so many sts with such problems. Let �s just hope all the politicians will wake up before it �s too late. If I believed in God I would pray for you, just now I can only send you my thoughts and hugs.
I �m off, take care everybody.
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17 Jun 2010
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aliciapc
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Hi all, it �s only 6.30 pm here and I �ve been reading this very interesting, though sad, thread.
The saddest is to realise how many countries around the globe approach the education issue in the same careless way! We have classes of 30 - 40 in public schools, and believe it or not, some private ones, too... Universities normally have classes of over 200 students ... They are just numbers there ! But that �s just normal for us, so Sylvie, sorry to say you �re not the only one, and here, that �s not gonna change. Funds for education are always scarce... and health ... but for politicians � salaries, that �s never enough.... or banks, as Lisa pointed out ... I �m lucky to work at a private school where we divide classes according to previous knowledge and my groups are always of about 20... but that �s not the case of most teachers here. Anyway, I can relate to all the problems Marion mentioned ...
Sylvie, just don �t get too stressed over this as you won �t solve it and it �ll be bad for you. Think what a great teacher you are ( I admire teachers who work with SN ss ) and do the best you can . Virginie, I don �t know you but I hope your son gets better soon, too! Send you my love...
A big big to everyone ! |
17 Jun 2010
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yolprica
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We have been quite lucky in Spain so far but things are changing for the worse due to the crisis. I have had groups of 15-20 students in my classes this year but next year they will be of 30-35. All teacher are really worried about the possible problems we will have to face because students are not as they used to be; very few are really interested.
Yolanda |
17 Jun 2010
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manonski (f)
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To all of you with 30 plus students, my heart and prayers are with you. I �ll have 3 classes of 27 next year with my older students and I already know that my classroom will not have any room to spare. I �ll make it work... don �t know how but I don �t have a choice. I know it will be only for one year. We asked for money to open up another class and divide the 3 classes of 27 into 4 groups instead. We �ll find out in August. Keeping my fingers crossed.
I guess money will always rule in education. That is very sad. |
18 Jun 2010
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