Class size does matter

Class size. My oh my, I’ve seen a lot of silly things said about class size. Now Stu Egan from Caffinated Rage brings to light another silly thing said.

Bloomberg said: “Double the class size, with a better teacher, is a good deal for the students.”

Oh no. It just doesn’t work this way. Visit a classroom and find out the truth. 

Large classes have to be managed. Managed as in crowd control. Sure it can be done by a master, but learning suffers terribly because management is the first priority. The focus is almost always on crowd control. Got a trouble maker? They have a much larger audience, and I can guarantee you that they’ll pull in a few others into their side show. Now instead of completing the scripted teaching/learning routine carefully planned by a teacher not to disrupt the delicate management balance, the teacher has to slip back into management mode. I don’t have time to know my students if I have 40 or 50 in a class. Even 30 can be problematic. 

Small classes still have to be managed, but spend some time on routines and procedures, and they become automated. Teachers have time to spend in small groups and with individuals. They have time to plan, teach, access, and reteach. Students can be an active part of their education. There is opportunity to build a relationship with the kid who may have been a trouble maker in a large class. Opportunities to change outlooks and make a difference to lots of kids. 

In NC, we have caps on classes until 3rd grade. That’s great, but what about all the other grades? Is it not just as important for our 4th-12th graders to make sure they have the best educational opportunities possible? In some of our classrooms, students have to stay at their desks all day because there is no room to move around the classroom. 

AND from where will we get these better teachers? Will we give newer teachers smaller classes to hone their craft? Will we pair them with experienced teachers in these overly-large classrooms? What is the process needed for someone to become the *better* teacher who can handle 60 students? We have got to move away from this mentality that students are products. I want our students to be thoughtful, understanding, knowledgeable. I want them to be capable of problem solving and critical thinking. This will only be accomplished when society decides that education is worth the money it will take to have smaller class sizes from PK - 12th grade — appropriate class sizes where teachers can know all the students they teach.