Change of Heart?

I had always opposed teaching regents (high school level) science courses in grade 8 in most of our District Six middle schools (Washington Heights, Upper Manhattan, NYC). My reasoning was based on a few observations.

1. Most of our students are deficient in a number of basic science skills and habits of mind, partly from inadequate science instruction in elementary grades, partly from # 2 below.

2. Most of our students have not had any accelerated science instruction in any previous grades.

3. Combining 1 & 2, most of our students have not mastered basic middle school level science concepts & skills by the time they enter grade 8. This is a particular problem because, of course, the regents curriculum assumes that the student has certain requisite background knowledge from middle school science. As an example, in regents bio, students jump right into DNA structure & replication, protein synthesis, & so on. It is assumed that students have already mastered Mendelian genetics - dominant & recessive genes, Punnett squares, pedigree charts, etc. Of course we don't teach that topic until grade 8. So that's an additional topic for my students to deal with in taking regents next year.

4. Most of our middle schools do not have adequate facilities (science rooms with running water, space, lab tables, etc.), nor do they have adequate materials for teaching a rigorous regents class with required laboratory hours. To the extent that it is done well, it demands a lot from the teacher in terms of drumming up materials, labs, activities, etc.

Most schools are unwilling to provide the number of hours per week of science necessary to address the problems outlined above. To be more precise, I’ve been looking at the science programs in a number of high schools. Most of them program 7.5 periods per week for 10th graders to complete the Regents Living Environment course. I found one high school that actually offers a 10 period per week section for students who are struggling academically and at risk of failing the exam in a regular 7 period setting. I’ve seen regents offered here at some of our middle schools at 5, 6, or 7 periods per week. And that’s for 8th graders! Granted, these are usually higher functioning 8th graders, but still, most have not had the benefit of the full range of middle school topics before being thrust into a high school biology class.

So why am I teaching regents biology next year?

1. My school has scheduled 8 periods per week for the regents classes next year. That increases the odds of success.

2. I want to teach the kids I have this year (in grade 7) again next year. In spite of my reservations about looping, there’s something special about “graduating” (it’s a NY thing I suppose – 8th grade graduation isn’t something I am familiar with from NC) with a group of students that you’ve been with for a couple of years.

3. One way or another I plan on teaching regents living environment from now on – that means one way or another I will not be looping anymore. That probably means moving on to another school after next year, probably a high school, where I can settle down and become proficient at teaching biology.

4. I think I can do the job well and I’m willing to invest a considerable amount of time, energy, & effort to make it work – see #3 above.

So really, I haven’t had a change of heart per se. I still think that under current circumstances most students would be better off taking regents in high school. But my students are getting regents next year with or without me, so I will make the best of it, in the interest of my students as well as myself.