Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments VS kid too distracted in class

Oh good grief! My kids would have just given up in a situation like that.

How extremely frustrating!!!

polarbear

We have been in both traditional classrooms and the open structure. Both of my kids have focus issues, with DD being pretty extreme. We had tried headphones (noise blocking and also music or white noise), earplugs, etc. She said that she felt like she was in hell. She WANTS to hear everything going on and seeks out the stimulation. Yet at the same time she gets irritated when her concentration is disrupted. I don't know what the answer is, but the traditional classroom wasn't better because it was way too crowded. The schools weren't built to pack 25-35 kids in a classroom. So then they end up grouping desks together anyway, and she was surrounded on all sides by kids with their desks adjoining. Since the rooms were small, it became very loud, whereas in the open format schools there was more space and at least the noise came across more like a constant background buzz. I guess what I'm trying to say is that either way it's bad news for DD. I think it depends a lot more on the teacher and how the teacher manages the class rather than the actual space and whether there are walls.

The nice thing is about the open structure is that the teachers can group the kids according to ability level much more easily than a traditional classroom. So they go to one teacher for reading, a different one for math, etc. DS goes from 2nd grade to 5th grade for math, which is not a big deal because 5th grade is right there in the same area. Then the 5th grade itself is ability grouped so he is placed in a group doing 6th grade math. It's flexible so kids can be moved around if necessary.

Puffin your experience is very valuable

Not every NZ school agrees with the way the Ministry is going with open plan classrooms but you might have to go private to avoid it.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11446451

I seem to remember the Catholic Education Office in NSW following a similar open plan approach in recent years. Not sure if it is still the trend of the day.

What was interesting in the article is the distinction made between a student and teacher led approach to learning. Is the massive classroom set up student led because it's impossible to hear the teacher (tongue in cheek but still...)?

thanks all for some good suggestions and support! I think this is going to be an ongoing issue for us with a lot of trial and error. She's a trooper so I guess at some stage she will just deal with it but I feel bad for her.

ndw: private is not an option until secondary for us ($18000 plus per year)so the local will need to do. As I said the teacher (and school has been great so far but this just might be a tricky thing to sort. Anyway we'll see how it goes...

I'm impressed you get an IEP. She may find it a bit easier once she has settled a bit. She may not of course but be optimistic for now. I must admit though I feel sorry for the older teachers who would have been beginning their career in the open classroom stage and are ending it in the modern learning environment hype. it must be hard to be constantly asked not only to change horses midstream but to do so with enough conviction to convince people you are on the same horse.

Are these changes based on the need to justify a greater student : teacher ratio or on actual new educational research/ideology? I have 2 daughters at school, my airy fairy, creative one would be a mess in that environment. She's doing extremely well academically but it's with a low key classroom environment, small class size and a seat close to the teacher. My other one, DD7, is very autonomous and independent but she hates other children repetitively interrupting her work.

I went to school in NZ - I lived in an average sized city and there were probably 15 children in my class in the early years. These changes make me feel old!

The cynic in me was wondering the same thing re student/teacher ratio

FWIW, the school my children were in with a similar philosophy had all the right "talk" in place - having an open classroom with multiple ages/grades together would allow for differentiation and allow students to work at their own pace, but in reality it didn't work out at all, and without careful planning and a real motivation on the part of the school to do so, I'm not sure that an open classroom in and of itself lends itself to being any easier to differentiate in than a standard classroom situation. I hope it works out!

polarbear

I worked in an open school at one point, and it was used by staff to collaborate and differentiate...but the first thing every teacher did with his/her space was to put up barriers (bookcases, additional white/chalkboards, drapery, etc.). We also quietly placed certain children into the few closed classrooms in the building, including all of the kindergarten and first-graders.

I will say it was fabulous for classroom observations, though, as I could stand on the third floor balcony and observe student behavior on the first floor, without anyone knowing who I was observing. (This was an all-in open school, with one enormous, cavernous open space on three levels. Including the school library.)

When I first heard of it, I thought it would be amazing, and had DD been NT I would probably be quite excited about the changes, I just know she'll be far too distracted.