The Delaney card (a.k.a. Visual Seating Plan) is a method of

classroom management Classroom management is the process teachers use to ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly without disruptive behavior from students compromising the delivery of instruction. It includes the prevention of disruptive behavior preemptively, as ...

. This small one-by-three-inch card has been used extensively in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

since the 1950s. Each Delaney card contains the name of one student in class, and lists the name, telephone number, address and other vital information for each student.

The card

Each Delaney card contains the name of one student in class, and lists their names, telephone numbers, addresses and other vital information of each student. The teacher keeps a large book with sturdy slotted cardboard pages, with a Delaney card in each slot. The cards are arranged alphabetically by student last name, or placed according to the position of each student's desk. One side of the card has the school year's months and days printed in columns so that the teacher can keep track of the student's attendance. The other side contains the student's contact information, as well as a grid that is usually used by the teacher to mark class participation. The sides are also printed in different colors, and typically the card is flipped over to mark an absence, to remind the teacher the next day of a previous absence. The Visual Seating Plan card system was invented and implemented by Edward C. Delaney, a Harvard University graduate, and teacher at

DeWitt Clinton High School , motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished , image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg , seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG , seal_size = 124px , ...

in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, who died in 1969.

Criticism

Teachers in settings where the Delaney system is used often must keep track of hundreds of students; a typical teacher may handle 170 pupils per day. Progressive educators criticize the Delaney book because it encourages impersonal treatment by the teacher. "The cardinal sin was to treat a student like a Delaney card," recalled a teacher at

New Utrecht High School New Utrecht High School is a state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school located in Bensonhurst, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. The school is operated by the New York City Department of Educat ...

. As students are asked to fill in the cards themselves, falsification of information is common. Phone numbers and addresses listed may not actually belong to the pupil. As a prank, students have been known to obtain extra Delaney cards and create cards using false names or fictional characters such as

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publish ...

In popular culture

Delaney cards often appear in works of fiction set in the New York City public school system. They are discussed in

Evan Hunter Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Albert Lombino,(October 15, 1926 – July 6, 2005) was an American author and screenwriter best known for his 87th Precinct novels, written under his Ed McBain pen name, and the novel upon which the film '' Blackb ...

's 1953 novel, ''

The Blackboard Jungle ''Blackboard Jungle'' is a 1955 American social drama film about an English teacher in an interracial inner-city school, based on the 1954 novel ''The Blackboard Jungle'' by Evan Hunter and adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Brooks. I ...

''. The Delaney system also makes an appearance in the 1965 novel (and the 1967 film version of) ''

Up the Down Staircase ''Up the Down Staircase'' is a novel written by Bel Kaufman, published in 1964, which spent 64 weeks on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. In 1967 it was released as a film starring Sandy Dennis, Patrick Bedford, Ruth White, Jean Stapl ...

'' by Bel Kaufman.

References

External links

* {{New York City DOE, state=autocollapse Education in New York City New York City Department of Education Public education in New York City Student assessment and evaluation