Two Halves Equal More than One Whole

Abstract

pursue. With Arlene Blewitt, another teacher who felt the same way, I persuaded the school district to allow us to team teach. We became the only half-time teaching team in the St. Vrain Valley School District, in Longmont, Colorado. We were placed in a traditional self-contained classroom with a random group of twenty-eight sixth grade students. We each received a salary equal to half of a full-time teacher's salary. Having no local precedent to follow in sharing a homeroom class, we reaffirmed the adage, learn by doing. All of the planning was left to us. We split the hours, duties, and responsibilities. Our most important decisions concerned which subjects each would handle and which hours to be in attendance. We chose the areas in which we felt strongest, and found that there was no overlap. Our plan was to exchange hours at mid-year. For the first semester I taught in the morning, covering all of the reading and language skills. When I switched to the afternoon, I continued with the same subjects in order to maintain a necessary continuity for the class. As the year began, we found it was also important for the students to understand that they had two homeroom teachers with equal authority and responsibility. To reinforce this idea, we occasionally enjoyed class activities, such as picnic lunches, with both teachers participating. Classroom management and school responsibilities were divided equally. The morning person attended faculty meetings and took charge of such routines as announcements and attendance. The other person was responsible for recess and playground duties. Both of us concerned ourselves