The current practice in primary schools, which is based on students being taught by the same classroom teacher for four years, has returned to the agenda with the discussion of the “2+2 model.” The model is based on the idea of one teacher instructing grades 1 and 2, and another teacher instructing grades 3 and 4.
Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin, in his assessment with journalists in Erzurum, said that the opinions of teachers on the subject have been taken, but there is no official decision made or concrete work initiated by the ministry.
NOT A DECISION, BUT AN EXCHANGE OF VIEWS
Tekin stated that there are different practices in the world aimed at specialization in education, and noted that there have been requests for subject teachers to enter certain classes in some schools. Minister Tekin expressed that teachers were asked for their opinions in this context.
Tekin said, “There is an expectation of specialization. Naturally, we are asking our teachers, ‘What do you think about this?’ It is not a subject we have decided on or said we will do as of now. We talked about it in a teachers' lounge, and it became news from there.”
According to the discussed model, it is stated that areas such as literacy, basic mathematics, school adjustment, and social development come to the fore in the first two years of primary school; and in grades 3 and 4, it could be aimed at preparing students for the subject teacher system in middle school by deepening the course content.
Minister Tekin pointed out that 1st and 2nd-grade students and 3rd and 4th-grade students have different needs in terms of age groups, and used the expressions, “We are taking the opinions of our teachers on how it would be if primary school classroom teachers were divided into those who teach one and two, and those who teach three and four.”
Emphasizing that the process is still in the discussion stage, Tekin said that workshops could be organized by the General Directorate of Basic Education if needed. Stating that the model could be abandoned if teachers do not want it, Tekin said, “There is no concrete, matured, or taken step by our ministry at the moment, and it is not a job to be done from today to tomorrow anyway.”
News Source: 12punto
