Sharon needs our responses:
As a part-time high school Spanish teacher with just two classes, I am facing a difficult spring semester with two new Spanish 1 classes. One class is huge with 32 students, and the other has just 9 students. I’m hoping the community can offer some advice to handle the following situation.
With the large class, students are literally crammed together, which makes it seriously difficult for me to observe everyone for an honest IPCS grade. This new group comes with a reputation, and I believe that 1/4 to 1/2 of them are going to be challenging me with blurting out in English and side conversations.
What really stresses me most, however, is how difficult it will be to give an honest IPCS grade. I bend over backwards to be fair with my students, but I will not be able to judge everyone equally because I can’t see those hiding behind a more visible student. Already I’m predicting that a lot of the IPCS grades will be a reflection of an overview of the entire class; that is, LOTS of “2‘s” because of side conversations I’ll hear but not see, and blurting out in English. Seriously, I will need a second pair of eyes just to observe jGR and another pair to present the lesson.
Yes, I’m already preparing myself psychologically to be contacting parents right away, and I’m planning to come down hard with lots of 2‘s to show that I mean to stick to the rules. My IPCS is 60% of their total grade. However, I am hoping this community can offer further suggestions.
Sharon