teacher

[omreem]

what is a home room teacher?
thanks

[TheParser]

what is a home room teacher?
thanks

NOT A TEACHER


(1) Here in the United States, many children go to three years of

so-called middle school and then four years of high school.

(2) A child usually attends six classes each day. Each class has a different

subject and a different teacher.

(3) Traditionally, a child attends those six classes for a semester (five months). Then

often a child attends six new classes (and often six new teachers) for another

semester. Then it's summer vacation!

(4) Some educators felt that children need a sense of stability. That they need to

know one teacher for all three years of middle school or four years of high school.

A teacher who could be a friend and adviser. (Some American schools have

thousands of students. Students can feel "lost" or lonely.)

(5) So many schools started "homeroom." In other words, a class that is

the student's "home" in that big school. In theory, a student has the same

homeroom teacher for three/four years. Usually, homeroom is the first class of the

day. It might last for 20 minutes or longer. The homeroom teacher does not teach

a subject, such as math, science, language, etc. Instead, the homeroom teacher

discusses school matters with the students, often takes official attendance (so that

the school knows who came to school that day), and counsels students with their

school problems. Often homeroom might start at 8 a.m. After homeroom, then the

students start their six classes. The same students keep that homeroom for those

three/four years. So the students in that homeroom become friends -- in theory.

(6) This is all theory. In practice, many teachers and students feel that homeroom is

a waste of time. In many schools, homeroom is, in reality, talk time. That is, it is

20 - 30 minutes in the morning for students to gossip before they start the school day.

[SoothingDave]

It is for attendance and for other school-related administrative things (handing out important papers to go home, voting for the Homecoming Queen).

Also, with students being bussed in and schedules varying, it gives time for transportation issues to be resolved. Not every bus gets to the school at the exact same time every day, and the exact time as every other bus. So kids on the earlier buses don't mingle in the halls, they have to report to their homerooms. It is largely a social time, but it is supervised, at least. Not like having kids making out in the corners of the school!

We always had a different homeroom teacher every year.