From K through 12 I don’t think I ever had a class with more than 20 people in it. I relished the close-knit environment of my learning experiences and the fact that every class could easily become an interactive discussion. And then I entered college. Home of the 200-person lecture hall.
To say that this latter scenario has not represented my most enjoyable learning is an understatement. I know that I engage with the material better when I can ask questions and make comments—something you just can’t do when there are too many kids and only one teacher trying to keep all of their interests—and can easily understand why others would feel the same. In larger classroom settings I feel that the professor is talking at me rather than teaching me.
With that said, I am torn as to whether or not to agree with Mayor Bloomberg in saying that smaller class size with a lower quality teacher is a worse deal than a larger class size with a better teacher – that’s a tough call, one I’m very loath to make given my own experiences. However, ultimately I have to agree with him. If you are an honors student who will put in the extra legwork and seek out the teacher on your own to ask questions, then yes, maybe you’d benefit from a better teacher in even a large class. If you’re really interested in the topic, even a lecture from someone who really knows his stuff and can communicate it well becomes fascinating. If you are an underperforming student, you’ll be drawn in by an exceptionally dynamic teacher’s tactics. (And when you inevitably realize that even if you don’t care about doing well you certainly don’t want to fail, you’ll at least be helped along by the teacher’s clarity on the topic.) And frankly, no matter what its size, an inexperienced, ineffective, or impatient teacher will at best babysit a class while teaching absolutely nothing (seriously, did anyone read Amelia Bedelia when they were kids?) and at worst confuse and agitate a class.
Nevertheless, I don’t think that cutting teachers is the best way to stay within budget. A good teacher can get the lesson across with a lot of creativity and a bit of improvisation—and let’s face it: The likelihood is that it won’t just be the subpar teachers who get cut. The spark that ignites children’s brains and imparts values to them in the classroom does not come from the electrical wiring in the newest technology paid for through the funds allocated to their school. It comes from their teachers. Humans are not replaceable, no matter what anyone says—so how can anyone believe that the primacy of teachers is second to that of other considerations in our school systems?
