Elementary Twin Boys, together or separate classes?

My twin boys are going into a magnet MST middle school as 6th graders next fall. :huh:
The school has an A/B schedule, so there will be 4 - 1.5hr classes per day.
I'm trying to decide whether to have them placed in all classes together, :itwins_boys: or just let them place them randomly as they do other students.

In elementary school, we did try putting them together in classes, & placing them in separate classes. They seem to do better academically :umm: and socially :8714bumper: if they are in the same class...even though they do have separate friends. This year they were together, and had a wonderful year.

What opinions are out there?

 

We purposly seperated them in preschool through 4th grade. In 3rd and 4th grade Austin was in a multiage class (the two grades combined into one class) and Sarah was in regular classes. After that, we've just let them be placed randomly. In middle school they've never been in the same homeroom class, but they've been in the same "pod" the past two years. They've been in the same randomly chosed electives too.

I say just let the school randomly pick them, because that's always worked for us.

 

I would see about keeping them together in a few classes.

My sister and I have been in the same classes all the way K-5.Then we were not in any of the same classes in 6th grade. We were however on the same "team" and saw each other frequently due to how the classes were set up. Then in 7th grade we had a few classes together. I liked that because it was just enough time apart but we had lunch together and a few classes so we were not totally sperated. Then in 8th grade we were back to no classes because my school changed the way they did scheduling, but we had lunch together. Then in 9th grade we had all classes together except one. And that is the same this year in 10th grade.

Personally I enjoy being in the same class as her because we work together and its easier to get partner wark done when you work well together and think simuarly. We both function well together so it hasn't been an issue.

You say your boys do better together both socially and acedemically, so why seperate them? If its not broken then don't fix it. If they voice they want to be in seperate classes then I say do what they want. But they are still developing seperate personalities and making friends. They may be using each other as a security blanket and if that works then so be it.

 

QUOTE(Devonna James @ May 15 2008, 06:35 PM) [snapback]775701[/snapback]
My twin boys are going into a magnet MST middle school as 6th graders next fall. :huh:
The school has an A/B schedule, so there will be 4 - 1.5hr classes per day.
I'm trying to decide whether to have them placed in all classes together, :itwins_boys: or just let them place them randomly as they do other students.

In elementary school, we did try putting them together in classes, & placing them in separate classes. They seem to do better academically :umm: and socially :8714bumper: if they are in the same class...even though they do have separate friends. This year they were together, and had a wonderful year.

What opinions are out there?



I think you should go with what has worked best for your boys in the past! Especially with changing schools to a larger middle school. THese are tough transitional years already; I think you should stick with what has been best in the past, so that there are no new challenges added to the usual pre-teen/middle school transition. GL!

 

Though my kids won't switch schools until after sixth grade, I'm already thinking about this. My fifth-graders have been together every year thus far (I leave it up to them, though I ask for the teacher's input at the end of each year) and that has worked well for them. Our local 7-12 school separates in 7th/8th, then they'll be back together again for most core classes from 9th-12th. It seems odd to me to separate them for two years, so if they still want to be together in 7th, I'll fight for it. Their teacher this year, who has taught them two of the past three years, already volunteered (unsolicited) to write the 7-12 principal a letter recommending that they be placed together if that's what they decide.

If your boys do better together, and if they want to be placed together, I would surely lean strongly toward having them placed in the same class.

 

My boys were never together in elementary school but for the past two years at middle school we have had them on the same team. This means they have most classes together. It's worked out great for them. I never wanted them together until middle school because my fear there was they would end up with all their friends on one boys team and none of the others. This way they are assured of being either together or apart from all their friends. And I have only five core teachers to deal with instead of ten. It's been great. They willbe together again for 8th grade as well.

 

We have the A/B schedule also. I just let them place my kids randomly. They ended up with some classes together and some separate.

 

Ask them! Mona, and I get seperation anxieties, so it's hard for us to be seperate in EVERY class, but it differs for everyone.