These comparisons are only a beginning, but they do serve to point out that teaching a destreamed Grade 9 class in a high school is different from teaching a destreamed Grade 8 class in an elementary school. The options available to teachers are different. Rather, the structures of secondary schools do not allow high school teachers the range of options available to elementary teachers. Unless we want to change those structures and can change those structures, teaching destreamed classes in high school will remain an unsatisfying endeavour in which teachers and students are both constrained by structures beyond their control. Return to Top Deborah Berrill is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, Queen's University and Head of the Trent-Queens Teacher Education Program in Peterborough.
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