After reading several of the articles assigned this week, I couldn't help but wonder which is really better: teaching a heterogeneous class or a homogeneous class? And is "Ability Grouping" equitable? Just curious as to what thoughts and ideas were developed according to the topic. Would you rather teach in a heterogenous classroom or an homogeneous classroom? Have you ever been in a low-ability group or a high-ability group? The quote from "Is Ability Grouping Equitable" really made me think:
"Given poor instruction, neither heterogeneous nor homogeneous grouping can be effective; with excellent instruction, either may succeed".

This is a good question Katie, and one that I have been asking myself while I have been reading the articles. When it comes to grouping students sometimes it is hard for teachers not to group by ability, especially if teacher has no assistant. It is easier for the teacher to get to work with groups on a given subject than to work with students one-on-one because of the amount of time in the classroom that can be spent each day on that subject. Then there are the facts that higher level groups don't progress and lower level groups worsen, for various reasons like teachers and students have low expectations, and the students resisting challenging work. I think groups are good for children because it teaches them to interact with others and develop social skills. As far as ability grouping though, I'm not so sure.
I know from working with two little boys I use to babysit, that children of different levels tend to get competitive, but in this situation it turned out to be a good thing. One boy was a third grader and the other was in kindergarten and the third grader was starting to learn multiplication. Every afternoon we would work on his tables and the kindergartener wanted to join in too. He ended up catching on quicker than the third grader, and this motivated him (the third grader) to do better! By the end of the year I had a third grader and a kindergartener that knew their multiplication tables. So in this instance, a diverse level pair turned out to be a learning experience for both involved!

I believe that teaching either homogeneous or heterogeneous can meet with success if the teaching is effective. Case in point, a friend of a friend is a second year third grade teacher. Last year she was given a fourth grade class and was able to bring the class from reading at below a second grade level up to grade level by the end of the year. In the county in which she works a first year teacher can not receive Teacher of the Year. She was a runner up for the award only because of the short length of time she had been in the classroom. Now the class was not all the same having both rich and poor, white and black. It does not matter what all the circumstance, but what does matter is the fact that everyone was able to succeed in her class because of her ability to give instruction in such a way for all of them to raise their reading level.

One thing I seemed to notice was that there is a difference between Ability Grouping and Ability Tracking. I do not believe that either is necessarily good to use in classrooms, but ability grouping seems to be less severe. I beleive that classrooms should be a mix of all types of individuals from all different cultures, backgrounds, and abilities. Children need to realize at an early age that there are always going to be people different from them and that this is something that needs to be accepted. I think that the earlier children relize this the better for our society. Even though a child may not be as academically gifted as another does not mean that they do not have something important to add and to teach to the class. When children grow up and have to face the "real world" they will see that they need to work and interract with all kinds of people that are different from them, and I believe that tracking them does not help them to be empathetic individuals. I deffinitley belive with the quote that Katie brought up from the reading because I believe that tracking our students does not help anyone.

I personally do not like the idea of "higher tracks" and "lower tracks." Maybe I have too much faith in people, but I think anyone can succeed if they try. Granted that not every student in high school, for example, would feel comfortable taking an AP or IB course. However, I feel that by working with a student's natural ability will help then succeed in whatever class THEY choose to take.