Brigitte shares:
Dear Ben and all,
Here is my situation and I would really love the input from the group:
I am in the (fortunate?) situation that my level 1 and 2 students have taken so amazingly well to being taught with CI that the parents went to the superintendent of our district and asked (that’s putting it mildly) that I be moved to teach the upper levels (including AP) next year. While I am really excited to be working with former students again, I am also nervous since those particular students only had one year of CI with me (my first after switching). For the past two years, they have had my colleague who is a strict adherent to non-CI methods.
Unfortunately, for the past few years, the AP students did not score any 4s and/or 5s on this exam. Parents seem to believe that it has something to do with the method. So, as you can imagine, the pressure is on.
I absolutely want to continue teaching using CI/TPRS – even at that level.
My question to the group, in particular to those who are teaching AP German (Robert comes to mind, anybody else?): is it doable? And if so, what is my best course of action?
By the way, not giving this exam is NOT an option – our district prides itself on its AP successes.
Also, I am concerned what will happen to the lower levels. Any new students will be taught the “traditional” way again and when they come into my classroom a few years from now, they will not have had any CI exposure. Plus, my colleague will continue to teach level 4 (the year before AP) because he has requested to do so – our district allows tenured teachers to state a preference for two of the five sections on one’s schedule. So, I feel that I am in a no-win situation.
My supervisor believes in this method and assures me that the above circumstances will be taken into account. However, he is also the non-confrontational type who will not face this predicament with the type of leadership that this situation requires.
I would really appreciate any thoughts/suggestions from the group. Thank you all so much in advance.
Brigitte