> I also liked that they had children of various years in the same classroom. I think it promoted knowledge sharing from the older kids to the younger ones, and it removed barriers for friendships. Some of my best friends back then where older than I was. That would never happen in middle or high school.
In my own experience multi-year/grade classrooms seemed more fun and interesting, and I think there were social and educational benefits as well.
My perception is that in the US multi-year tends to be largely limited to elective courses, clubs, sports, and extracurricular activities.
(Unfortunately a typical "college preparatory" track in secondary school can interfere with elective courses such as arts courses or practical courses, both of which seem to be viewed as less important by many schools and college admissions departments. I wonder whether California proposition 28 will expand access to arts courses and activities?)
Best school I went to divided classes between academic and social --- social classes (gym (physical education), social studies/history, homeroom, &c.) were attended at one's age/grade level --- for academic classes (English, science, math) one attended at one's grade level up to 4 grades ahead, until 8th grade when the cap was removed.
For students who finished high school courses, some teachers were certified by the local college to teach college level courses (all teachers at this school had at least a Master's degree) and there were arrangements to students to the college, or bring faculty from the college to the school, depending on the number of students taking a given class.
Many students when graduating from high school were simultaneously awarded college degrees.
that should have been a research project on how to do school properly :-)
I bet some phd in education could easily have published a research paper on this.
In my own experience multi-year/grade classrooms seemed more fun and interesting, and I think there were social and educational benefits as well.
My perception is that in the US multi-year tends to be largely limited to elective courses, clubs, sports, and extracurricular activities.
(Unfortunately a typical "college preparatory" track in secondary school can interfere with elective courses such as arts courses or practical courses, both of which seem to be viewed as less important by many schools and college admissions departments. I wonder whether California proposition 28 will expand access to arts courses and activities?)