Does Size Really Matter?

Giggle to yourself if you thought this might be an x-rated posting. I’ll wait. Ok, back to education.

Back on the 28th, the Chicago Trib published an article about class sizes. They’re going up, because we as taxpayers won’t pay for teachers. At least not as many as in years past. Research is sketchy on the effects of class sizes upon students, so it seems to be an easy cut. Parents are, of course, against it in their own child’s classroom… but for everyone else, well, you know. (mafia mentality rules. me and mine only, screw everyone else)  The article pointed out several sticky issues – like differentiating instruction for students or giving attention to all students, not just the loudest. District administrators all pointed to data which shows a good teacher in a large room is better than a bad teacher in a small room. A lot of administrators in WA believe this is gospel and are creating budgets based upon it. Is it true? Yes, but…

As they say, the devil’s in the details. And those details are why my own children will probably not be attending school in the district I teach. Are our elementary teachers dedicated, good teachers? Yes. Do I want my shy girl sitting quietly in a kindergarten classroom of 30 students with any of them. No.

First, the classrooms aren’t designed to hold that many little bodies. Like rats in a cage, it’s way to easy for an “accident” to happen. No one person can watch that many kids. Ironic that at age four, it is illegal in WA state for a preschool to have more than 8 children for every adult present, but by age 5 they’ve magically become mature enough to handle themselves alone. Or fight off bullies.

Second, will my shy girl even be known by the teacher? She’s not loud. She’s not pushy. In a competition for adult attention with 29 other children she will loose. And not just in competition for attention, but in getting help with anything, personal safety, etc. I can already picture the crying going into the classroom every morning.

Third, the other children will end up having a greater influence on her than the teacher. Simple math. 29 screaming voices will outweigh one calm one, not matter how good the teacher. And they do scream. Usually back to back profanities. First grade teachers complain about apathy – in first grade! I’m all for socialization and diversity and all that crap, but I’d like my child to get something out of school besides an enlarged profane vocabulary or broken limb.

(OMG! I just wrote a WASL essay… kill me now)

What are large classes sizes like in high school?  Anecdotal evidence tomorrow.

FWIW, I have found a school where my child could attend in a class of about 5, without costing $30,000/year. How good is the teacher? I dunno. Will the school still be there when she’s ready for kindergarten? I dunno. I’ve got a couple of years to figure out the details.