Class Size (Again)
From reader Aggrivated, comes this Salon article about...sigh, class size. Really? Still?
I'm going to say up-front that I believe it matters. And whether or not it is measurable, it matters. I say this because I did tours for every single level of school and the number one (or two) question was ALWAYS, "What is the average class size?" It may not matter to Michelle Rhee but it sure does matter to parents. Because beyond academics, parents want to believe their child will get some kind of attention from the teacher. (Kate Martin was telling me that some of her son's friends - middle of the road academically - said they never tended to get noticed or called on and that the teacher tended to stick to the kids on the outer parts of the classroom. That's heartbreaking.)
I've also never found a teacher who said to me, "Nah, doesn't really matter at the end of the day."
I say this because we're all parents. Remember giving the birthday party where every kid showed up and you
I'm going to say up-front that I believe it matters. And whether or not it is measurable, it matters. I say this because I did tours for every single level of school and the number one (or two) question was ALWAYS, "What is the average class size?" It may not matter to Michelle Rhee but it sure does matter to parents. Because beyond academics, parents want to believe their child will get some kind of attention from the teacher. (Kate Martin was telling me that some of her son's friends - middle of the road academically - said they never tended to get noticed or called on and that the teacher tended to stick to the kids on the outer parts of the classroom. That's heartbreaking.)
I've also never found a teacher who said to me, "Nah, doesn't really matter at the end of the day."
I say this because we're all parents. Remember giving the birthday party where every kid showed up and you
