Class management in private schools!
Teaching
As I mentioned in previous posts, I am working as an English teacher in a private schools in Turkey, so my posts are usually about education and the ways of improving teaching quality in schools. Today, I would like to talk about the importance of class management based on age groups. Teaching is hard, it is even harder when you don't have any control in the class and your students are not comfortable with things in the class.
As I am working in the language school that I am positioned at the moment, I pay attention to check the age groups. It is sometimes possible to make mistakes by putting people from different age groups in the same classes which is a nightmare indeed. As people in different ages need to be treated in different ways , it is impossible to teach them things with the same techniques in mixed groups.
Kids
When we think about kids, it is impossible to put them into same classes with adults or teenagers. Kids have their own special needs. There are really different methods to teach them a language, you can't force them to learn the language through some grammar rules, all activities must be based on things where they can play games, use cards, toys and all other things that kids really love playing.
In addition to this age group, it is possible to have the same problems with teenagers. As teenager face with a hard time because of their ages, it is also really wrong choice to put them into same classroom with adults or kids. They usually have tendency to laugh and make fun of things in the class which is not so nice for adults. I have had some situations when there are teenagers and adults in the same classroom, it was a real disaster.
Quality of education
When we have situations like the ones where you have all age groups together, it is not possible to have an effective lesson for teachers and students. When adults see teenagers and kids coming to lessons just for fun or teenagers see adults being too serious in the class, it will be a real trouble for teachers controlling the lessons and managing all people in the classes. This is a serious issue for teachers, so schools must be careful with this.
While talking about all these negative things, there are some countries where multi-age classroom system is supported. This system includes people from different ages which ages actually are not too far from each other. This system might bring some advantages, but depending on my observations , it is really hard to come up with solutions when you have a multi-age classroom system.
Multiage
When we think all lessons in a whole, it can be beneficial for all students in different ages when they learn things together. As an educator, we usually prefer pair and group works in the classes, so children can get to know each other and produce more things together to get the best of the things that they are learning. When you imagine people from different age groups sharing their knowledge in groups, it can create diversity.
When we think about adults, it can be also very perfect chance for them to learn how other age groups are doing to learn the things. When they are working on a thing together, they can learn new learning techniques. However, as I said before, I am not a big fan of multiage system. It might bring advantages, but when we compare pros and cons of this system, it is much better to put students into different classes where they feel more confident with people in their own ages.
Final note
I know that there are many educators on steemit and there is a great platform where educators are supported. I would like to hear the ideas of steemiteducation family and discuss about new forms of teaching. Thanks for reading and Steem on!