Class size

According to a reserach organization that's part of  the Department of Education,  one truly proven method for improving learning is smaller class size.      One  teacher to smaller amounts of learners is hands down superior to one teacher and hoards of learners.    It's one to one around our house.       Thank goodness for that or we would likely have had more than the 1 Mattie escape over this past 18 months as Mattie's parents.    She had one on one almost daily walks to build bonding and trust and in my defense, I tripped and the leash came off and she didn't know us yet.     Stevie...he just doesn't listen yet.  But we're still trying.  

   I struggle to imagine what will happen in my classroom next year.   A large percentage of my students come ill prepared for  life in the classroom and I  am hopeful every year that I'll be able to make a connection that will hook a 5 year old on a reason to come back beside mom and dad saying "GO".
25-1 is the newest projection from our state leaders.       Look at the classrooms where your children are learning.    Right now districts ask for waivers to get around 22-1 so some places, including my classroom have more than 22.    Will that waiver granting policy be allowed when the cap goes
to 25-1? 

I don't have answers (some ideas maybe)  but I do know that school districts listen to parents.  Yet,  very few parents ever voice their opinions outside of yearly conferences or report card concerns.    There is a life altering dilemma (catastrophe is probably exaggerating but that was my first choice)   knocking at the door of your child's classroom.     While I would currently like to blame the Toyota Highlander for the ills and problems of my classroom, truth be told the problem is silence.   Silence about what we are about to loose.     The squeaky wheel  method works.   Promise.     Public school will listen to parents if parents will speak.   So start speaking and don't stop speaking.   Be nice.   Please, please be nice.      Budgets in our schools are being written.       Sit  down and write your school board a letter.    Write them an email.           Talk about what is important to you, your child,  our future.    

And don't buy a Toyota Highlander with personalized entertainment areas for each  person in the car.    Yep...the add says your two children can watch a video...or one a video and another can plug in their games or ipod and then you never ever have to talk to them on a drive to HEB ever ever again.       If we've  stopped speaking in the car, then maybe asking people to speak  and write  to the  strangers who run our local ISD's  is too much to imagine.   But I'm hopeful.  
Speak up now before what you have is lost.  
Mattie and Stevie's mom says,
thank you...thank you very much. (elvis's birthday was a weekend or so ago)