it isn't normal to have every kid working on the exact same thing, surely?

In my commonwealth-educated experience, we were all working on the same thing the whole time. At least until it came to the point where we chose O-levels.

I'm having a fleeting memory of being streamed, but it wasn't for much or a long time.

Just to be clear, differentiation is not the same thing as grouping. There are a ton of techniques; the idea is simply to allow learners to progress at their own pace. Sorry about the confusion! Teaching, bbl.

One ref: [link]

My elementary school had an anti-elitist principal way back in 1977 when I started first grade, and he'd been there forever and was near retirement. I had a first-year teacher, and when I demonstrated, on the first day of school, that I already knew how to read on something like a 5th grade level, she borrowed some readers from the older grades and would let me go off by myself and read stories while the other kids worked on learning to read. This went on for several months, until Mr. Hill found out what the teacher was doing. Then my story books were taken away and I had to sit in the circle with the other kids, holding a first grade reader with 1-2 words per page, and listen to my classmates laboriously try to sound out words. Needless to say, this did not have the desired effect of making me anti-elitist and better integrated with my classmates.

Timelies.

Plei, I'm so sorry to hear about your aunt.

Sox, much strength to everyone there.

When I was growing up I'm pretty sure different reading, etc. groups within a class were the norm. It certainly was in my school. The "don't be eliteist" trend seems to be in the last ten or twenty years.

We had clear-cut streaming. Totally different classrooms. It was never called that but everyone knew that most subject teachers had a "smart" class and a "dumb" class. However, I think it was by subject, so a kid could be in the smart group for some things and not others. We all worked on the same stuff throughout the year.

Social studies was always mixed up though, which is why you had things like Friday's map day, when we had to fill in the blank US map every Friday until we got 100, and some people were doing it all year, and the kids who finished after a week or two had to sit there the whole time doing nothing.

DH's dad called - his aunt passed away late last night. It was quick - and we're all glad for that.

I know I'm in an awful mood, and I know there are things going wrong all at the same time, but how idon'tknowwhattocallit is it that when I told my boss about this just now, and that I didn't expect for there to be anything I could do about it until possibly Tuesday if there is a memorial (not her style - she left no instructions), her response email was 'Do what you need to do.' and that's it.

Tell me I'm being too sensitive and to focus on what's important.

eta - (family & Iris' birthday)

First of all, {{{Sox and fam}}}

I suspect that your boss's response was meant as "take all the time you need and don't feel like you need to be at work right up to the service", rather than unsympathetic -- but I can definitely see how it comes off wrong.

So, again, {{{Sox}}}

amych is right, I think. Take your boss' comment as an invitation to re-prioritize, Sox. Put down the stressy work stuff. Eat a cupcake.

Hey, guys, remember that time there was a mouse in my kitchen last year?

{{{Sox}}} I think amych and Sparky have the right of it.