In his journal article, Small Versus Large Schools: The truth about Equity, Cost, and Diversity of Programming in Small and Large Schools, founder of Small Schools Coalition, Stuart Grauer defend small schools against overwhelmingly large schools. He reveals the truth behind three myth that claim large schools are the best form of education, offer a more extensive list of curriculum choices, and you're more cost-effective. Grauer examines the differences between school sizes in order to prove how the benefits of small institute sir pass those of larger institutes. As an educator himself, Grauer addresses other teachers, students, and administrators in his journal. His prompt and educated tone relays his message very directly to support his
Overcrowded schools are one of the many reasons why America is falling backwards. With high birth rates and continuous immigration flow the classroom has become overcrowded. The best way a student can learn is if the attention is not so divided. With large classrooms having over 30 students, it makes it almost impossible for a teacher to attend to each student equally. “Slavin (1989) reviewed those studies that lasted a minimum of 1 year and had 20 students or fewer. He concluded that substantial reductions in class size have a small positive effect on students” (Synopsis of Class Size Literature). Classrooms should be small enough for a teacher to perform well without divided attention. In smaller classrooms, students are recognized for their contribution and participation. Students can respect the work of their peers individually and learn from them and help maintain order. They have more time to be collaborative, work creatively, think critically and draw their own predictions. In “Every Classroom Teacher’s Dream”, Patricia Handley states that “Teachers have more opportunity for personalized assessment with students, such as individual conferencing. With a small class, teacher can maximize best teaching practices, heightening students’ academic achievement” (6). There is ample evidence on how a small classroom can improve so much.
Allain, A. (2017, March). 4 Advantages of Small Schools: Why Small Schools Do So Much
A small class is consider to be twenty students or less. In smaller schools there are not as many students so the teachers will be able to help the students more one on one. Students can have a better idea of the content that they are learning and even if they don’t understand then the could talk to the teacher to have a better understanding. In a recent study, students and teachers were randomly assigned to a small class, with an average of 15 students, or a regular class, with an average of 22 students. This large reduction in class size (7 students, or 32 percent) was found to increase student achievement by an amount equivalent to about 3 additional months of schooling four years later. Also, increasing the pupil/teacher ratio in the U.S. by one student would save at least $12 billion per year in teacher salary costs alone, which is roughly
I still remember my first school day in Canada. I met a lot of problems and I thought there are lot of differences between schools of Chinese and Canadian. The schools of Chinese and Canada have lots of differences. As a student which had studied in middle school of Chinese, I think the most notable differences in these two schools include the learning style, the teaching style, and the collaboration.
With this, mandates and community desires place pressure on the allocation of personnel across the district. The economy of size allows larger districts to employ more specialized teachers, putting them in a better position to provide a wide range of courses required by state and federal mandates and expected by today’s students and parents. This ability allows for more individualized instruction – by age level, subject level, and level of ability. For example, hiring a full time instrumental music teacher, offering a wider variety of world language courses, or creating specialized special education centers. Personnel in larger systems also often enjoy improved professional development, increased salaries and benefits, and greater job security. With more colleagues, teachers in larger districts benefit from professional learning communities upon which to draw for advice and discussions, interactions that lead to improved effectiveness.
I think that bigger schools are better than smaller schools for many reasons. Bigger school can offer more than a smaller school.I think that bigger schools are better than smaller schools for many reasons. Bigger school can offer more than a smaller school. Bigger colleges focus on sport scholarships for athletes but for smaller colleges they don’t focus on sport scholarships.
A negative about small school education is that the students are affected on the social side. At a small school there are only a few students that are the same age as others in the school. Students are extremely limited to friendship groups.
The group I had for this assignment was Rethinking Schools. Rethinking Schools opposes the common Core in all aspects. Rethinking Schools does not agree with how the Common Core was created or how it is being implemented. Rethinking Schools believes that the Common Core standards are not state standards. They believe they are standards at the national level. It is proven to be federal standards, because of the money incentive states could receive for adopting the standards. They believe that teachers are not prepared to teach it, and that there are not the resources available that are needed for it to be taught. Rethinking Schools also believes that it should not only cover the two subjects of language arts and math. Many times the Common Core is compared to NCLB when the organization says there are too many standardized tests being implemented. A quote from the group says, “The entire country just finished a decade-long experiment in
reflects the values on society and the kind of society we want to be ,it is important therefore to
But, I could feel myself getting restless about many things in and out of the classroom and began to check out some of the local school systems for openings in my academic field as well as in coaching.
The city school systems are now more racially and socioeconomically segregated than they have been in the past.
District leaders and school officials believe that combining schools can help save money. Their idea is that consolidation creates a decrease in overhead expenses and costs. They believe that pooling resources leads to increased production and efficiency for schools. This increase in production and efficiency cannot be measured only in dollars and cents, for there are other expenses to be
It is pretty apparent that in America, and elsewhere, most parents and general adults want what is best for their children in terms of education. This mindset can be seen reflected in the legislative aspects of our education system; there are many incentives pushing through the school boards and legislatures of our nation in order to attempt to further refine the education system. This is important as it allows us to refine traditional American education in order to improve upon it, and one of these attempt refinements and improvements has to deal with the subject of class size. For many people, large classroom sizes are a spawning ground for many issues with the education system: high distraction in the classroom, teacher inefficiency, among a plethora of others. Although it may seem regressive to favor small classes over bigger, more potentially diverse classes, small class sizes are more beneficial for education in that it is less distracting for the students and raises the possibility of staying focused, it potentially raises teacher-student relationships, and it allows for better results and better statistics coming from these smaller classes.
In the paper “The Enduring Effects of Small Classes” the authors attempt to present more precise statistical data and thoroughly analyze methods used to create statistical models in an attempt to further clarify results from two popular studies on student-teacher ratio. These two analysis programs, the Tennessee's Project Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) and Wisconsin's Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) Program were determined to have provided “significant cumulative benefits associated with smaller class size, with benefits being more impressive for African American students. However, others dispute these findings, most notably the Heritage Foundation. The broader research literature also raises questions about the generalizability of these studies. This conflicting research has led to a number of attempts to assess and reconcile the existing evidence.”(Finn, Gerber
Many parents feel their children are not being challenged enough in public schools. Some of these children are doing well but clearly could do more, could be stretched intellectually. From their parents' point of view, they spend far too much time watching television, wandering around the mall, or playing games on their computers. Many parents are consequently drawn to private schools because of the academic rigor that comes with smaller classes, more personal attention, and teachers who nurture and promote each child's talents. There is no question that private schools offer smaller classes than most public schools in the country. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 1998-99 the median student-teacher ratio in NAIS schools was 9 to 1 while that in public schools was 17 to 1. Smaller classes make it difficult for a student to hide or slide. In a room with only 14 other students, it is difficult to remain uninvolved or consistently unprepared. Teachers can get to know 15 students much better and faster than 30. Smaller classes promote more faculty member-student interaction, and most kids