CAT Tracks for December 5, 2012 TEACHING THEM YOUNG

Using 4th-Graders as assistant teachers...

I dunno...

I could probably work up a good rant and rave a bit, but I think I'll pass.

I mean...

There's nothing really new here, teachers have done things like this on an individual basis, like forever.

Hell, it was the staple of the one-room schoolhouse...

...not that I would know, ya know. Long before my time! I was a city-slicker who went to a two-grade-to-a-room Catholic school..."ruled" by hand-slapping nuns.

But...

...formalizing it seems just too gimmicky.

Plus...

...the 4th-Grade "student teachers" don't need art and library, or some simple "fun time".

Can't we just leave it as a natural by-product of the "guide on the side" approach...

...kids helping each other in the course of learning in small groups.

Oh, well...

...maybe there's some grant money out there going begging.

And, there's the cuteness factor...

...who would cast stones at a ten-year old teacher?

At least one group of "teachers" can feel the love and get some respect...