Advice from experienced parents please - worried about class sizes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm almost amused by the frantic worries about a class size of 25. I grew in up a nice midwestern suburb with a very well-respected school system, and all through elementary school we had 25 kids in my classes, with no teachers' aides (except for the occasional student teacher). We did have a few extra teachers that would take smaller groups for reading or special ed work.

Really, the class size was no big deal. I ended up at a top tier law school, one classmate went to Univ. of Chicago, one to Wharton, etc. - we were more than prepared for the challenges of junior high and the even greater challenges of college prep/IP courses in high school. I have great memories of 2nd grade because my teacher was young and really nice, and less wonderful memories of 1st grade because my teacher was old and grouchy. I have wonderful memories of the school fairs and races in the playground, Girl Scouts and my friends. But I have no bad memories related to having a class size of 25. It just wasn't an issue.

For some kids like my DS, he couldn't operate in such a large class size. Too much noise, too much stimulation and he couldn't settle down and concentrate. Plus, everything took forever- standing in line for this and that, etc. Plus, when we were kids, most kids started school on the same page. Most kids knew their colors and could count to 10 and that's about it. So the first grade teacher started everyone at the beginning. These days, kids have a huge variety of early childhood experiences from staying at home for 5 yrs and knowing nothing when they start K to kids who are good readers already. So the job of the classroom teachers is a whole lot more complicated.

Glad you survived first pp above. As the second pp notes, It's just not that simple for some of us. My son has a very hard time operating in a crowded school (hallways upon arrival, full class, crowded noisy lunchroom, crowded playground where everyone has to manage on the single piece of outdated equipment; I could go on and on). Unfortunately, smaller classes via the private school route turned out not to be an option. Sometimes I wonder if we should move from one part of MoCo to another to get into the capped class size schools.

Where in MC are class sizes capped at lower numbers? Are you referring to Title I schools?

[Anonymous]

there is a strong feeling among good teachers that school size not class size is the better indicator

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


there is a strong feeling among good teachers that school size not class size is the better indicator

makes no sense
"good" teachers?

larger school, larger classes
smaller schools, smaller classes

???

[Anonymous]

No sense?
Class size less important than school size?
Many high schools that are large are breaking up their grades into autonomous parts so that admin staff can be knowledgeable, close and responsive to students thus ameliorating the effect of necessarily large classes due to budget constraints.
There are many ways of addressing problems that seem insoluble.Same is true for many universities --things that get too large can be apportioned differently with good results.
Ergo: a school could still have large classes (whatever) and be so designed that it is possible to get a good handle on it with respect to all the important factors.Whereas, small classes in large school could conceivably be far worse off.
When you can't change the numbers of anything, work at changing the way you deal with them.
This in reponse to those whose sole worries seem to be class size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


there is a strong feeling among good teachers that school size not class size is the better indicator

makes no sense
"good" teachers?

larger school, larger classes
smaller schools, smaller classes

???

You clearly are unfamiliar with Oakland Terrace Elementary School - gigantic school, small classes.

[Anonymous]

research about class size has suggested that much smaller class size makes a difference but that the difference between 23 and 28 doesn't really matter so much. would be much more concerned about the teacher....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:research about class size has suggested that much smaller class size makes a difference but that the difference between 23 and 28 doesn't really matter so much. would be much more concerned about the teacher....

Correct.
That is why few public school class sizes are small enough for me. The target size is 12-15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


there is a strong feeling among good teachers that school size not class size is the better indicator

I wish we would stay clear away from these anecdotal theories. Show me some research, you might be right, but please confirm it.

[Anonymous]

One DC in a class of 32 at a parochial. Wonderful teacher - fabulous year. Class has always been 30-32 and while all years have been fine, this one is great because the teacher, though very young, really has a good grip and is doing amazing things with them. She does have a full time aide too.