Jun 17, 2012

ARTICLE: Class Size, Again

Class Size Increases Should Focus On Higher Grades, 
Smaller Classes Critical In Early Years: Study

I know I just added an article about this topic, but this one speaks to a bit of research.

"'Research shows that students perform better in small classrooms, especially in kindergarten through third grade' according to the news release."

Uh... no doy.

"While figures pulled from the U.S. Department of Education show that teacher-student ratio declined from 22.3 in 1970 to 15.3 in 2008, nationwide reports have indicated a surge in class size in the last couple years, since the onset of the recession. A Texas teacher reported a high school class with 50 students last year. A Las Vegas elementary school kindergarten class had 41 students."

In education, there's a push for authentic learning with teachers acting as facilitators. Students are expected to interact with one another, discussing their learning. Before the lesson, the teacher must consider learning styles, group arrangements, IEPs, behaviors, activities, etc. A halfway intelligent person can agree that all of this is considerably easier when the class size is manageable.

A comment from failureofreality: If teachers really cared about the students, they would accept pay cuts to allow for smaller class sizes. Class sizes are rising for budget reasons. This problem could be easily resolved if teachers would put the interests of students ahead of their own interests. Also, retired teachers could accept lower pensions payments to allow more money to go to teachers who actually teach. 

Yep, education isn't the responsibility of our society--it rises and falls with teachers only. Unlike other professions, there is an expectation that teachers should give up their own money, or just zip it! So, starting in August, I'm giving up my entire paycheck to help the students!

Nevermind, that's just a stupid idea. My kids need to eat and they're constantly growing out of their shoes. Can I borrow some cash, failureofreality?

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