Small Teachers

This year we tried something new with my second grade class (8th grade) at one of my junior high schools. The class has 11 students, and there is a huge gap in how they are currently doing in English. Five students are doing very well, but the other six are doing rather poorly. And there is no one in the middle. My teacher made a chart for the kids using their scores from the first test they took to demonstrate this to them and what should, in theory, be a bell curve was an M. My teacher realized that he could probably work with one of the lower scoring students for the whole class and they might understand the day’s lesson, but the others would still be lost.

So we started the small teacher program. My teacher paired all the kids up with one strong student and one weak student to a group. He did this based on who needed the most help (the lowest scoring kids are with the highest scoring kids) as well as based on personalities that we hope will work well together. Now we have 5 strong students, but one I believe is severely autistic. She’s very smart and does very well on written activities, but we can’t get her to say anything in class. So she is included in a group of three but works mostly on her own. Honestly the kids probably know how to work with her better than any of us teachers since they have been with her since elementary school and know what she can and won’t do. So that leaves us with only 4 small teachers for 5 groups. The last group works with the teacher when they are discussing what new grammar means, so he can check their understanding and help them along.

The students were a little hesitant at first. The kids we designated as small teachers were nervous, except for one who was absolutely thrilled. But as class went on things fell into place a little more. And by the second class it was as though we had always been doing it that way. We had introduced a new grammar point and had written an example sentence on the board. After repeating it a few times we had then discuss the meaning in their groups. I was amazed by what I saw. Every student in the room was smiling. No one was zoning out or staring blankly at the textbook. My students who normally fall behind were engaged in the lesson and seemed to be enjoying class. I was thrilled with the atmosphere we created.

The girl who used to be the second or third weakest in the class has skyrocketed in skill. Although I can’t claim that this program is solely responsible for that really since the teacher has informed me that she is greatly improving in everything this year from her school subjects to sports. Last year when I would work with her, she would read out of the book so quietly that I could barely hear her while standing next to her. I was ecstatic when she was reading something for the other teacher and I heard her from a good three feet away using a loud, clear voice. And she just seems happier and more self confident this year. She’s really been applying herself and it shows.

One pair is a set of rivals. When we made the pairs the students were probably the lowest scoring small teacher and the highest scoring underperforming student. But oh my goodness. Now the small teacher is applying himself to his work in class much more and his partner is moving up steadily as well. They have great chemistry and compete against each other in a very healthy way. We hit the nail on the head with that pair.

But it isn’t without problems. I know that my best student is REALLY frustrated by the small teacher program. I have confidence that he could help a student who was a little less behind, but his partner is the weakest student in the class and its difficult trying to help him to understand. It’s the same frustrations we often feel, but he’s just an 8th grader, so it’s hard on him. His partner does seem to be improving a little, but he has a really long way to go. Perhaps it would have been better to put the two weakest students in the teacher’s group, so that the small teachers were working with students who would be easier for them to help.

We did a survey of the class after first term to see what the kids thought of the program. My two best students said they didn’t like it much, but ALL of the weaker students said that they found it really helpful. It was hard to break up the program when the half of the class who really needs it appreciates the help and wants it to continue.

Clearly this couldn’t work in all of my classes, but it certainly seems to have done some good in this one. We used to have this set up for every class, but we’ve been doing it less often these days so that our smart kids have a little less pressure. I know that it’s a frustrating situation for my teacher. There is one bit of really good news. At the start of the year two students in that class said on a questionnaire that they did not like English at all. We recently gave them another survey and none of the students picked the lowest option. So at the very least we’ve improved the atmosphere of class, even for those who are struggling. And that’s a start.