General Comments & Questions
Want to ask me a question or make a general comment? Here’s the place to do it! If you need privacy, email me and I’ll get back to you.
Resources
Yardsticks: 
Children in the
Classroom
Ages 4-14
(3rd Edition)
by Chip Wood
Child
Development
Pamphlets
K-8
Companion to
Yardsticks
Responsive
School
Discipline
Time to Teach,
Time to Learn
Classroom
Changing the
Pace of School
by Chip Wood
Ian – Let’s connect the dots in your three questions. Thinking about the “unruly” five year old in your district, I wonder how this student would behave if the rules themselves were more suited to the student’s developmental needs, i.e., less paper and pencil tasks and assessments, time for exercise and play and a healthy snack? The teacher who helps provide these basic needs is likely to have fewer children who are continuously disruptive in the classroom because the norm is one of mutual respect and understanding as well as clear expectations for “the way we treat each other in this classroom.” That said, even given the most appropriate environment and norms, some children may still be continuously disruptive due to a lack of developed social skills or mental health issues. There are many approaches for teaching such children social skills just as there are many approaches for teaching reading. Both are part of being a teacher, of course.
Hi Chip,
I’m a pre-licensure early education major and I had a few questions….
When reading the book I noticed your talk about testing students in moderation. With acts such as NCLB, what are your thoughts on standardized testing, especially in grades 3-5? Are there any alternatives to high-stakes testing? I feel at that age that is too much pressure!
Also, I noted that older five year olds need consistent discipline…what would you do with a student that is continuously unruly in the classroom? Especially if they are frequently disrupting other students?
You spoke of snack times and taking students outside frequently which I think is a great idea. The school district I come from would probably make some sort of excuse to not allow such things. As an educator, how would you approach your principal/school board about doing some of these ideas that may not be “the norm” in a school?
Rachel
Every school, of course, is different, though private schools are held to the same standards and testing as public schools so some private schools may be more lax or, on the other hand, more rigorous than high-performing public schools. There really is no objective measurement.
I am a strong believer in inclusion for special needs students if we also provide inclusion of special education teachers and additional resources into inclusion classrooms. Children should not be separated in classes based on development, but should have their developmental needs met. This also is a kind of inclusion.
As for what is my greatest joy or biggest benefit from working with children, I would say the hope that I help people believe in the importance in allowing children to have their childhood and not be rushed. Our future depends on this.
Amy
1. Do you think states will mandate Spanish in United States Elementary Schools in the near future? Not likely (though it would be terrific for us to be a bilingual country). english only is the law in most states in terms of education in the early grades, so we have a long way to go to reverse this political direction.
2. Do you ever see states getting rid of Standardized Test? There is just so much pressure put on Educators to teach students so they can do well on these tests.
We do not need to eliminate them, but they should not be so “high stakes” in terms of promotion and graduation. This just leads to higher retention and dropout rates.
3. Do you ever see states mandating Preschool? Yes, we are moving in this direction, but it will only be helpful if preschool keeps a focus on play and social skills with early literacy in math and reading brought in but not in heavy doses (with testing no less, as we are seeing today!).
Kyle – Brief responses to your three questions:
Do you think school should be in session year round?
I think learning opportunities should be available to students year round, though not necessarily in the form of year round school. We know there is a summer learning loss where children do not get enrichment experiences such as camp or summer school enrichment.
Do you think grouping students together is beneficial for students in the classroom?
Teachers who use flexible grouping based on academic strengths and needs can produce positive results. Hopefully we are passed the time when all children get the same diet of learning.
Do you think that school should cut gym classes because of budget cost? academic, physical and social growth all suffer for children when Pe, Art and Music are cut as acceptable measures to meet financial hardships in districts.
Mr. Wood,
I would just like to say what a pleasure it was to read your book and how much I enjoyed it. My favorite element of your book was how you grouped all information within the ages of children and how you showed the drawings from the different age groups. With that extra something, I could really grasp the different ages and where children are at developmentally at that stage in their lives. With that being said, I do have a few questions for you. I would like to get your take on private schools and whether you believe they are really teaching children how to learn or what they should know. I attended a private school at a young age and found myself being pushed to learn in a specific way. Also, I would like to get your view on children with special needs and the concept of inclusion. Do you believe that children who are developmentally at a different level should be apart of classes or more so just interact with others? Last but not least, I do have another question…what is your greatest joy or your biggest benefit for working with children?
Thank you!
Rachel
Hi Mr. Wood,
I have three questions that I would love to hear your opinion on:
1. Do you think states will mandate Spanish in United States Elementary Schools in the near future?
2. Do you ever see states getting rid of Standardized Test? There is just so much pressure put on Educators to teach students so they can do well on these test.
3. Do you ever see states mandating Preschool?
Mr. Wood
Do you think school should be in session year round? Do you think grouping students together is beneficial for students in the classroom? Do you think that school should cut gym classes because of budget cost?
Thanks
Kyle
Kate – Yours is a heartfelt plea I hear from so many teachers these days. I do believe, however, that there is hope. Many organizations are forming to respond to the misguided educational views of politicians and corporate leaders who are creating policy and practices that are driving excellent, career teachers out of the profession and new teachers to abandon ship after 3-5 years on average.
Check out http://www.courageinschools.org and the menu of links on the main page to visit sites that may give you some places to turn.
This may be more of a statement then a question–but your book is so very insightful as to how a classroom SHOULD be run. It is so frustrating with education cuts and funding at an all-time low, that the national ‘standards’ are ever-increasing yet the resources are dropping for teachers. We are pushing standards on children far too early and giving tests when they are not even developmentally ready! What can new teachers do?! How do we change this?!
Brittany – You’ve asked three questions on separate comments. Let me answer all three here:
1. Ability grouping WAS the way children were grouped years ago. Educators, parents and students learned over time that this discriminated against students with different learning styles and of children learning at different paces. Now teachers have learned ways to differentiate and individualize for the students in their classrooms. Hopefully, ability grouping will not return in its old form.
2.Some actually are having high school students start school later, but it means finding creative ways to deal with busing and sports.
3. ODD stands for Oppositional Defiant Disorder which some children’s persistent anti-social behavior is now sometimes clinically diagnosed as being.
Hi Chip,
I know that many people believe that students would benefit from being grouped by their abilities rather than their age. Do you think that this alternative way of grouping students will ever become a long-term way of teaching?
Thank you,
Brittany
Hi Chip,
Even though as you said in your book, many researchers have found that high schoolers would benefit from beginning school later in the day; do you believe that school districts would ever change their schedules and move high school to a later time?
Thank you,
Brittany
Hi Chip,
In your book when you referred to how crucial physical activity is to young children, you mentioned children with ADD, ADHD, and ODD. Could you explain to me what ODD is?
Thank you,
Brittany
Samantha – This data in my book, Yardsticks, comes from respected African American writer and researcher Janice Hale Benson (Black children. 2001;1986. Johns Hopkins University Press.) She has written, in fact, that many studies show that teachers expect the most from European American females, then European American males, then African American females, then African American males in classrooms where these ethnic populations predominated. Today, of course, there are even more diverse classrooms and I am not aware of more current research in this regard. I do note, however, that the vast majority of elementary teachers are European American females who may unintentionally respond to students most like themselves. I intend to take another look at recent research.
Samantha – My sense is that mixed-age grouping is not as popular in public schools right now because of the intense pressure on meeting grade level standards on standardized achievement tests. In its place, the practice of having teachers “loop” with a class for two years is regaining popularity because a teacher can really know her students and differentiated curriculum over two years to help one group of students make solid progress for two years. Mixed-age groupings are still popular in many provate schools where the actual grade differences are blurred and not given such importance in the classroom or school culture.
Samantha – You ask a question I’ve asked myself often. I’ve been a teacher, principal, administrator, professional development facilitator and author in the field for 40+ years. I have experienced periods of time when ideas I agree with educationally have been shared by large numbers of people in the field and other times when these ideas have been disregarded or dismissed. I believe most all leaders want what is best for the students of our public schools. Unfortunately, education is mostly “led” by politicians: elected school boards at the local level; education boards at the state level appointed by elected governors and federal department of education administrators appointed by the President and confirmed by the Congress. Most of these people have little direct experience in classrooms or schools or have first hand knowledge of educational research or practices. They collect information on which to base their political decisions from staff members as well as by lobbyists with special interests in profit to be made in the education “industry”. Educational change that emanates from educational commissions and legislation at the state and federal level has minimal input from real practitioners in the field. I have come to the conclusion that the best hope for the kind of change you talk about can best take root at the grass roots when teachers in their classrooms, sometimes whole schools and even occasional districts map their priorities and school improvement plans to coincide with the beliefs and practices they share from their direct experience and from others in the field who have something to offer them. The more parent voices are heard in this equation, the more chance for real change, because parents vote.
Kate – I found it most important as a teacher and as a principal for student teachers to spend the first week they are in the classroom in a strictly observer role for a portion of the day and just becoming acquainted with the children and the teacher’s routine. Then they can begin gradually to take on small groups, help individual students, etc. Usually it is the end of a semester when they are asked to take the class by themselves without you present. Supervision from the college, of course, is also a necessary part of the experience, as well as the time the teacher spends coaching. This kind of relationship benefits students, teachers and teachers-to-be, when done well.
Mr. Wood-
There was a statistic in your book that I found surprising. It was that teachers expect the most from European American females. I have heard that it was males! Why do you think the statstic is the way it is?
Thank you!
Samantha
Mr. Wood-
In your book you mention mixed-age and mixed-grade groupings of students. When I was in fourth grade I experienced this in my classroom. I remember students teasing one another because they may have been in the higher grade and put with the younger students. Do you think this may be part of the reason that this type of setting is not used?
Thanks!
Samantha
Mr. Wood-
Why don’t our leaders listen to educators and professionals, like yourself, and reform our school systems based on upon your experience and research?
Thank you!
Samantha
Kate – it actually depends on the school and the capacity of teachers to truly differentiate instruction in such away as to help the child you mention make significant progress in relationship to standards and grade level expectations based on report card polices in the district. Many children with cognitive challenges can make adequate yearly progress sufficient to keep up with classmates if given support services such as Title 1 or after school tutoring. Students with special needs get more thorough services based on their learning needs. Retention based solely on academics are hardly ever a path to later success for children. Two retentions almost always guarantees a student will drop out before high school graduation.
I’m sure you get asked this a lot, but any advice for student teachers? I know new teachers coming into the classroom disrupts the children’s routine, but any tried and true tips?
Thanks for your time!
Hi Chip–
What are your thoughts on children who, cognitively, should be held back a year in school, but are developmentally ready on all the other domains? Do you feel they could catch up, cognitively. I know it depends on the child, but I just wondered your thoughts in general.
Thanks!
Dear Maple,
It sounds like you have a not atypical four year old full of energy and common interest in dinosaurs, singing and talking. In order to be of more help, I suggest you email me directly: yardsticks@comcast.net with a little more information about the preschool. It also appears he will be one of the younger children going into Kindergarten at 4.10 if my calculations are correct. so there are some other things that would be worth discussing. Look forward to hearing from you. Chip
Hi Chip,
I have a 4 yr and 4 months old boy who is advance in his academic speaking/listening/reading skills (he can read Grade 2 books) but is socially and emotionally immature. What can I do to help him thrive in the preschool that he’s going to? Generally he is quiet only when he’s reading, watching dvd, listening to cds or sleeping. Other times he is talking/singing nonstop!
He’s been obsess with dinosaurs for at least 8 months now, how can I help him so that he is not being ‘disciplined’ all the time?
thank you!
Maple
Dear Mary,
I’m not sure where you are located, but the Child Development Matters workshop is being sponsored by Breakwater School in Portland, Maine, on Friday, March 16th. To register, contact Molly Thompson at http://www.breakwaterschool.org (207) 772-8689 x230. If you are not located anywhere near, you can contact allison@responsiveclassroom.org to see about the possibility of Responsive Classroom offering a workshop for your school. Chip
Hi Chip,
I am very interested in attending the Child Development Matters conference. I see that the next one, at the end of February, is full.
Do you anticipate conducting another one? If so could I be placed on a mailing list so that I could sign up?
Thanks,
Mary
Thanks, Chip! Great ideas!
Jeanne