Either school has started - or will start in the next few weeks - for kids all across the country. Our oldest son started second grade yesterday. In his typical "Samness," he was very concerned that we dropped off his backpack near his classroom and not in the "correct" spot where his class lines up on the playground. Talk about someone who likes rules (both Kristin and I are flummoxed about this trait). The one thing we noticed, though, were the new procedures put in place by the school to accommodate all of the kids.
Sure enough, when I got home, there were e-mails in Kristin's Inbox from parents who were frustrated with the class sizes at school. Here's the breakdown by grade level:
Kindergarten - 25 kpc (kids per class)
Grade 1 - 25 kpc
Grade 2 - 27.5 kpc
Grade 3 - 26 kpc
Grade 4 - 31.5 kpc
The 4th grade numbers immediately jump out at you - as they should. I taught 4th and 5th grade for many years and never had more than 27 kids in my classroom. I can tell you from personal experience, it's a LOT easier to teach a class of 24 than a class of 27. It may not sound like much, but those extra kids just take that much more to plan for and accommodate. I can't even begin to fathom teaching 31.5 kids.
What is the optimal class size? You can sift through research until the cows come home (hey, I lived in WI for a while), but let's think about the question on a very personal level.
You know your kids. Forget about how much it would cost, what type of learning you value, the curriculum you deem most important, and even political slants. What is the best classroom size for your kids? I can't imagine many rushing to the polls to cast their votes for 31.5 (personally, my vote would be closer to 20).
We are so apalled at our district's apparent path to self-destruction (this used to be one of the best districts in AZ), that we are looking elsewhere. The problem is - there aren't many good solutions out there. As a society, we really need to start a dialogue about what schools mean in the 21st century. We need to stop listening to politicians, special interest groups, and mass media and start thinking about what is best for our kids!
