Teresa Debrito was a teacher and a principal at Shepaug Valley Middle School during the time of the baby boom. Debrito she served over more than 300 students. Debrito describes how teaching a large class is tough to deal with because she was always on her feet all day. She also stated that she loved teaching all the students and she saw that within her five years of teaching at Shepaug Valley Middle School, she saw her class size get smaller and smaller with each year. She stated that the smaller class size seemed like they would be helpful and beneficial to students and the parents but in the way she sees it there are advantages and disadvantages to both the small and larger class size. When it comes to the larger class size she thinks there …show more content…
For some students, there is a point where the small class size could be harmful to the student in the area of experiencing diversity, the increase in anxiety due to the pressure to do well, completing the class work too quickly, and less opportunity for class activities due to too small of a class. Also, when it comes to small class sizes there are fewer opinions so there are not as many discussions and/or debates in class. Those discussions and/or debates can give the students in the class a new perspective on the topics discussed in class. When it comes to larger class sizes it provides less one on one time with the students as well as one-on-one time with the teacher which can cause the student to struggle in the class when a student needs extra help. At the end of the day, it all depends on the student because every student learns in a different way. The best way to decide which class size is better for the student it is best for the parents to let the child experience both the larger and the small class size because it will give the student and the parents more of a chance to decide which is more …show more content…
There were 45 children in my class. At that point of my life, I had a stutter, a lazy eye, and buck teeth with an overbite. The school provided me with an adult to help me with learning how to communicate, interact with other, learn to read aloud, and teach me some techniques to help me control my stutter. I had trouble with reading comprehension, math, and all the other subjects because my stutter affected the way I learn and process information. Even though I experienced a lot of diversity the teacher that I had did not have enough time to interact with me one-on-one which I needed to strive to my highest potential. My parents and I decided that I needed a smaller class size in order for me to be successful. My parents when searching to find a the perfect school and they found Woodcrest Schools. Woodcrest Schools is a small, private school in Tarzana, CA. The school went from preschool to fifth grade. I started Woodcrest in second grade. There were twenty-one students in my class. Woodcrest Schools provided me with the attention and help I needed. My teacher helped me before school, during school, and after school when I needed help. She always asked me if I did not understand the material. I in second grade also had trouble with math, reading comprehension, and writing. When it came to math, I did not understand the difference between multiplication & addition and division &
Just like Rose, I did not bother switching classes and I continued with the enrollment. Rose and I both made the best of the situation but I knew I was not meant to be in that class. I achieved exceptional test scores and wrote unbelievable papers in that class. My teacher for 8th grade English was the exact opposite of a literacy sponsor. My English teacher closely resembled that of Roses’ teacher Brother Dill. My teacher was exceedingly unenthusiastic about his job and the capabilities of his students. He did not teach me to succeed but to only pass by the bare minimum. He tore apart the essays I wrote and broke down my literacy confidence. Throughout this I maintained a empowering spirit about my writing and reading
We were not allowed to discuss lessons, and on math assignments, if we did the problem in a way that was different from the way we were taught, it was automatically marked wrong. We were taught in a similar fashion, frequently being told to shut up or whatever we had to say wasn 't important if the teacher didn 't want us talking. One shining example of the lack of respect our staff had for the students was an assembly that occurred in fourth grade. A student would not stop talking and the principal yelled at him to be quiet. The student stood up and threw a temper tantrum. The principal then grabbed him, put him in a headlock, and said, "Son, I swear to God, if you make my back go out, I 'll make you regret it!" These experiences lead me to believe teachers saw us as little more than an obstacle - something they had to overcome each day - instead of what we really were: young children, whose minds they needed to protect and mold into the future of this
AAA, for example, is a small school (“About the Academy”). The currently enrolled student body is made up of about 400 students, making the student to teacher ratio 15:1 (Best College Comparison). Another example is SAIC which is a medium sized school (“Compare Colleges”). SAIC has an average of 3,000-4,000 students enrolled a year. According to “SAIC”, about 83% of the classes at the school are small with less than 20 students. About 15% of the classes are medium with 20-49 students, and the final 1% of the classes have 50 or more. With classes this size, SAIC has an average student to teacher ratio of 9:1 (Best College Comparison). The final example is Columbia which happens to be a medium sized school. Columbia has an average of 9,000 students enrolled a year. According to “Columbia College Chicago”, the average class size at columbia is fewer than 20 students, making the student to teacher ratio 13:1. The school and classes are big enough to be able to work and learn from other students, but still be able to get one-on-one time with instructors. While class size is an important aspect of the decision making process, the cost of college is likely one of the biggest deciding
Which caused so many problems when returning to school. My first grade teacher, Miss Gray, suggested to my parents that I should be held back a school year. My parents were skeptical of her suggestion because it was also her first year of teaching. They looked through and thought about all the pros and cons. A few pros being that it would give me a chance to learn how to speak, read, and write in English again, and that I would know the material due to the fact it would be reviewed. Cons being that I would be older than the rest of the kids, being that I was not going to be in the same class with my old friends, and many more. Looking back at it now, I wish they didn’t make the decision of holding me back a year, because I don’t believe the sole problem was me forgetting the English language, but the teacher who was unwilling to give me extra
For the lead teacher interview assignment, I had the opportunity to sit down with and interview my son’s EC teacher from last year, Mrs. Hamm. Since my son started at the school last year, Mrs. Hamm has helped him in so many different ways. Mrs. Hamm has been teaching for over 20 years from her home state of Pennsylvania and more currently at Mount Energy Elementary School in Creedmoor, NC. Mrs. Hamm has been teaching at Mount Energy Elementary School in Creedmoor, NC for the last 12 years and recently awarded “Teacher of the Year”. Mrs. Hamm, up until this school year, was the main EC teacher for all grades Kindergarten through fifth grade at Mount Energy Elementary School. As of the present school year, the school district made the determination that she was over the acceptable number of students. As a result, they decided to hire an additional EC teacher and assistant to teach grades 3-5th and Mrs. Hamm would teach grades K-2. Mrs. Hamm was the teacher of 18 students until this decision was made, now with grades K-2, she has 9 students in her class.
The correlation between the amount of students in a class and the overall achievement of students has been a highly controversial topic for some time now. Many people have been wondering if smaller class sizes really do help students perform better in school or not. I personally do better when I am in smaller classes and have better focus on the topic at hand. According to Jacqui Murray, teacher of 15 years and writer for Teachers Hub, things like class size, along with other things like per-pupil expenditure and percentage of teachers with advanced degrees, does not matter as much as we think it does. What does matter, according to a study talked about in her article "Bigger Can Be Better: Reasons Class Size
Correcting this issue will be difficult, but possible. Throughout high school I did not have the best values that I have today. I did what other kids thought was cool like any other high school student trying to fit into a new place. In the future, I plan on pursuing a career in education. I plan on demonstrating the values of equality very thoroughly. Making a safe and pleasant environment is what I am hoping to accomplish. A teacher can impact a student’s life heavily. For example, my sophomore year theology teacher Mr. Finnochio, was a man of integrity. I never met a nicer, more thoughtful person in my life. The way he spoke to the class and respected everyone else’s opinion was extraordinary. He never judged or excluded anyone from anything and he impacted my life greatly. Mr. Finnochio is the reason why I would like to fulfill a career in education. I have experienced it and I know teachers can make a difference in this
The study found that as long as the student spent a full three years in a small classroom, the advantages would be seen. It has also been reported by STAR that the students in the smaller classes were 6 – 14 months ahead of the students in regular size classrooms. This large gap shows that it is much easier for students to comprehend information in smaller classrooms. A few other benefits from small classes were found, for example, students in small classrooms are 7% more likely to graduate on time. It was also found that students in small classrooms are 4% less likely to drop out of high school (Small Class Size, 1999). Over all, this study showed that “lowering class size substantially improved student achievement and was especially effective for poor children” (Small Class Size: Education Reform that works, 2003 p. 1). With all these positive effects shown by reducing class size, class size reduction should be strongly considered.
.... Having such high numbers of students in my classes did have negative effects on my learning. Without having teachers who knew me as an individual, I was left with a very impersonal learning environment. With having so many students in each of my classes, I had a very hard time having all of my questions answered by my teachers. The hardest part of having so many students in my classes was that I was often not the smartest one in there, and when I gave a wrong answer I was laughed at. It is not fair to feel intimidated by the amount of students in your classroom. No one should be afraid to learn for the fear of embarrassment. Students should not have the opportunity not to learn because the teacher can not relate to them, or because the teacher does not have the time to answer all their questions, or because their teacher only gives attention to the smarter students.
Now smart students should choose what class to go to, because they can be at a higher grade level learning , while the others ones still learning their grade and they can get bettter and be like the other smart kids. No, the class size don't affect the class , but a little bit becaus ewhen other and more students come in they won't have no seat and they'll have to seat on the floor. We also have bad computers that barely can work that's why we got chrome books which are better than the old broken torn down
Districts have to think about if it is worth the money to reduce class sizes, and if there is enough proof that students are academically better off in smaller class size rather than larger classes. According to Matthew Chingos and Grover Whitehurt authors of Class Size: What Research Says and What It Means for State Policy, “Increasing the pupil/teacher ratio in the U.S. by one student would save at least $12 billion per year in teacher salary cost alone” (Chingos, Whitehurt). Why would districts want to pay for the creation of smaller classes when they could save more by just adding more students to a class? This goes to show that there should not be a price tag on someone’s education. Why put more on a teacher’s plate just to save money? With the result from the Student Teacher Ratio, it is hard for districts to say that having smaller class sizes is not the way to spend money. If the districts spent the money on the class size reduction, they would not have to worry about an annual cost, because once small classes are set in place, the districts do not have to continue to pay. According to the National Education Association (NEA), having class size reductions do not only involve money but also create “improved health, less Medicaid coverage, lower crime rates, and fewer welfare recipients” (Class Size Reduction: A Proven Strategy). So, the districts should also look at this before being concerned to where their money goes. The district’s money, according to the NEA, is going into these students who will live a better life later on when they are out of school and into the real
Less classes a day would only be an advantage because by the time seven hours are done students are impatient and are not motivated to go home and do more
With around 50 million childrens in the U.S and a small budget of approximately 69 billion, it is difficult to spend a large chunk of the finances on smaller classroom sizes when their are many other pressing issues regarding education. It is even argue that “Reducing class size is widely considered one of the most expensive education reform measures a state can take. legislators and other policymakers will likely need to be convinced the additional funds they could spend in other ways will be worth the cost”(CSG). Although it is true that it is extremely costly and challenging to be able to install smaller classroom sizes all across the nation, especially sinces there's no guarantee that smaller classroom sizes is as effective as it seems, in the long run there are more students succeeding compare to a larger class size which indicates that smaller classroom sizes help improve education quality overall. For instances, “Health and Education Research Operative Services, found that when compared to average-sized classes, students in smaller classes in the early years eventually take more advanced courses in high school and are more likely to graduate in the top 10 percent of their class” illustrates that by investing into smaller classrooms, students in the future are able to continue their success academically from all the benefits gain
Class size makes a huge impact on how the student learns. Along with many other things, there is more to the amount of kids in class than most people think. The quality one on one time is affected. Along with that, important questions that the students needs clarity on from the teacher might not be able to be answered because so many other students are in the room asking their own question. Students learn in their own ways. Teachers have to be flexible to how their students learn and in order to do that they need to know their students on a personal level. When class sizes are large, it effects students in negative ways in their learning.