Class Size Matters!

NCLB professes to put students first. Mayor Bloomberg professes to put children first. Chancellor Klein professes whatever Mayor Bloomberg tells him to profess. All the fluffed peacocks in the Regional Offices/District Offices also profess to put children first. So, can anyone tell me why class sizes are so high? Anyone? Anyone? No? Well silly, the larger the classes, the fewer teachers you have to pay, the less rooms you have to light, heat, and maintain. The more crowded a room is, the more body heat there is to give that warm cozy feeling. When you factor in the new little rug that has to be in every room, you have an added warmth factor. Now let's also remember, that when people are in close quarters, they get on each others nerves, so you can also factor in hot tempers. There is nothing quicker to heat up rooms than student fights!

OK. Let's get serious. Students do need individual attention. They need to be listened to, responded to, nurtured, coaxed, motivated, guided in appropriate social behavior and respected. They need to be taught! Teachers need to have time to do this. It does not happen by magic. periods of $) minutesAnyone who says that classes of 28-35 students fosters this: 1- does not know anything about education, 2- is trying to play a political game to advance their career as an administrator. or 3- wants to spend education funding in their own pet area.

If you are one of those who thinks children learn perfectly well in over crowded classes, imagine how much better they will do in a reasonable size class.

We need some reality checks from the powers that be. They need to stop claiming to put children first, and put their money where their mouths are. Put up or shut up. Reduce class size to NCLB can be a reality and not just an acronym!