This year, Rocky consolers and math teachers are trying something different. If you’ve spent any time in Class Choice, you might’ve noticed that you don’t have the ability to choose what math class you’re taking next year. What’s the deal?

Interestingly enough, counselors aren’t involved in this process, it is all up to the math teachers. Megan Shaw, a counselor here at Rocky, said that the counselors aren’t involved in making those decisions.

Deborah Weaver, a long time teacher at Rocky said “For the two years that our students were allowed to choose their own math class, it made my job harder because students who were not ready to be responsible for their education (do work in and out of class and prepare adequately for tests), put themselves into Honors Math 2,” a more difficult class, “I couldn’t go as quickly, I had to teach and reteach more, they had to retest more, and they felt “less than” the higher achieving students.”

If teachers are the ones picking classes for students, they could know what classes are better fit for a student’s needs. Teachers have more experience with education, as well as the classes here at Rocky, and they can talk to each other to find the best class for a student. Teachers could know a student’s needs better than the student and choose a class for them that would help them succeed.

If a student is interested in taking a harder class, Weaver says that they will have to prove themselves, to show that they can put in the work to be in a class that demands students to be involved and serious about their education.

In summary, teachers can find a class best fit for a student’s ability that will help them be most successful in school and their education.

“I think Math is a class that needs to have the teacher make the recommendation for the next class –since they need to know certain concepts really well to succeed in the next class.”