Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The “not the worst thing ever” award goes to ...

... portable classrooms!

If there were a ratio of how much parents cared about a specific educational issue to how much it actually mattered in their children’s daily lives, you know what would score highest? Classroom trailers. The article in which parents complain that their children are in portables, or board members call for increased capital funds because of all the portables, is a staple on the education beat. Next time you are writing it, do us all a favor and spend some time in a school with trailers. Visit those classes, as well as classes in the regular building. Are children learning differently? Are they unsafe? I am so lazy I occasionally skip lunch rather than walk downstairs to the kitchen, and I hate to go out in the cold, so I get that having to pass outside between class and, say, P.E. can be annoying. But is it truly the tragedy so many make it out to be? I wish stories on the subject read less like laments and more like straightforward assessments of reality.

6 comments:

  1. When I was in elementary school, we actually loved the portables. They were the only part of the school that were air-conditioned, so everyone was excited for third grade when you were in the portables with the air-conditioning. The ones I've been in recently are even nicer than the ones I remembered.

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  2. Good points, but I think many of the concerns voiced about portables have had to do with the air quality given the formaldehyde laden finishes. In my experiences, many teachers and children ended the "portables year" with headaches and an upswing in asthma attacks.

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  3. Portables aren't as terrible as they are made out to be, I will agree. I taught in one for three years earlier in my career. That said, I think sometimes you will find children learning differently. There were things we could not do because of space constraints. The portable classrooms are smaller than our classrooms in the building. That does impact choices in the classroom.

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  4. While starting with the disclaimer that I am now in my undergraduate studies and so third grade was a long time ago, I do distinctly remember a stigmatism around the classes/teachers that were put outside in trailers versus in the school. I think that the major factor here is how well the school works to make those students feel included. Parking them on the far side of the playground makes kids feel very isolated but bringing them closer and making an extra effort to pull those students into the school building and engage them with the other classes whenever possible can make all the difference.

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  5. As a teacher who works in a dilapidated portable that is over 15 years old with a cracking floor, holes punched in walls and a bad bee infestation--I wish parents would care more that this is where their children are learning. The problem is not in the portables, it is when a portable becomes a permanent classroom.

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  6. Portables are awful or good, but sometimes, they allow 2 teachers to work as a team. My son had 2 teachers who shared a portable & the 2 groups of kids for differentiated instruction [math/sci vs. eng/soc studies] each day. And used each other to manage kids each day, and when I went to parent night, they were both there and supported each other and managed parents rather well too. At the yr's end, I sent a note to the principal that I'd been concerned over my kid having 2 teachers in such an early grade, but as it turned out, these 2 were such a great team that I felt he'd gotten a really good learning experience. Just one story...

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