Race to the Top Education

[Sundae]

In "my" school, in "my" year (age 6-7) we do not criticise the children.
However, according to the child's ability, mistakes are pointed out.

[all names are replaced]
If Jim gets his name right at the top of the page, without prompting, he is praised.
If Hayley does not use capital letters or full stops, that is pointed out to her.
Caitlyn is made aware of every spelling mistake.

We run the gamut from children with actual learning disabilities [receiving support from specialists] to children able to read 2-3 years above their age group. The idea is to judge the results according to the child's ability and always try to push them beyond their comfort zone.

Every single child has a spelling test every single week.
Those with difficulties (ie Jim) get their own words.
Every other child gets the standard spellings. And I did mark children with 1/8 or 2/8.
It's not just a tick and a cross though, it's explaining what was missing, using the THRASS system, sounding the word out and writing the correct spelling.

Same with maths.
Awesome Addition for example.
We had children on Level 11, and some of those on the top table for Literacy (Caitlyn for example) were still on Level 2. Whereas Jamie - in a special class for Literacy, was on Level 8.

I'm not a big fan of tests for littlies.
Not official ones, anyway.
I am a fan of regular tests as a way of learning.
I like that when I try to talk children through problems I can say, "Well you know what 8 + 2 is don't you? So what's another 2?" or "I know you know that word, because you spelled it right last week."

This is how I grew up, and therefore I'm biased.
Given that it's the way children are taught where I work, the bias is multiplied.
But to me it seems to work.
Children at the lower end of the scale still work towards acheiving a personal best.
The results are not read out in the classroom (although peers compare I admit) so no shame or grading is incurred.

And this is a school that teaches discipline.
You do NOT talk in class. Or in the corridors. You enter a class silently and sit on the mat. You raise your hand to speak. You replace your chair under the table when you stand up or leave. You are polite to all adults and let them pass in the corridors. And all that jazz. I'm learning with the children this year - I had no idea how big a gulf there was between 6 and 7 I suspect I'm a little more disciplinarian than Miss N, because I got used to the older kids... and Ms Mc last year. I have no doubt they'll all shape up though, they're all decent kids.

In "my" school, at least at the level of Year 2, I think a child's happiness depends on their homelife and their classmates, and guidance from the staff to encourage them to learn.

It's a wonderful school.