It's been a long morning in Brian Ellis' fourth-grade class at Thomas Kelly Elementary School, with lots of work on arithmetic. A student stationed at the chalkboard keeps score. Only one student speaks during the three-minute activity, and the ball doesn't reach the floor even once. At game's end the children clap and cheer, pleased with themselves. With the school year now two-thirds spent, Ellis has begun to develop the disciplinary and organizational skills that form the foundation of any classroom.
Classroom management is pretty down.
Retention is a statewide challenge these days. A legislative edict has mandated that California schools must end social promotion policies and retain or conditionally promote students who are performing below state standards. It's hard for me to try to make a call. I feel sometimes like I don't have enough of a feel as to where they should be exactly. Ellis doesn't have to make that decision by himself.