CLASSROOM SIZES Essay, Research Paper
Are class sizes to big in the America school system today? In my personal
opinion, I feel that overpopulated classrooms are mainly a quandary in the lower
elementary grades. The number of children in schools is prolifically increasing
in the overpopulated areas of the country, such as; New York, California, new
Jersey and other mid-west and east coast states. (www.ed.gov)
I choose to do my educational issue paper on class sizes because I feel that it
has a negative impact on young children in today’s school system. Also, going
through my education experience, my classes were all small and I felt that the
student and teacher interaction was very helpful for me to achieve my academic
success. I feel that all students need and deserve the one on one attention to
reach the zenith of their academic success.
Some benefits of small class sizes would be; students receive more personal
attention in smaller classrooms. Reviewing existing data kept by the United
States Department of Education, the figures show that between 1969 and 1997 the
average number of pupils per teacher in American public and private elementary
schools fell from 25.1 to 18.3, a decline greater then 27 percent. In secondary
schools the numbers also fell, from 19.7 to 14.0. (Scientific America, 2001) An
example of how classroom sizes can have a negative effect on children would be;
a student with a learning disability may not be able to receive all the care and
attention he/she deserves if a teacher had to tend to a larger classroom.
Whereas if she only had a class with fewer students then average in it, she
would be able to facilitate the students needs in a better more manner.
(www.ed.gov) Another reason would be the fewer amount of students in the
classroom translate into less noise and disruptive behavior, which not only
gives the teacher more time for class work, but also more time to engage
students creativity-by dividing them into groups for specific projects.
(Ehrenberg 1999) All the above mentioned benefits are very important to students
who have special classroom needs, this is why our government needs to invest as
much money into education as possible so we can be provided with nicer classroom
sizes, and more interpersonal relationships with the teachers and the students.
When talking about reducing classroom sizes the cost issue is always a huge
factor. Congress is paying out 1.3 billion dollars to school districts across
the United States. This will enable them to recruit, hire and train new teachers
for the 2000-2001 school year. On December 22nd 2000 congress appropriated an
additional 1.6 billion for the 2001-2002 school year. (www.ed.gov) In reducing
classroom sizes school districts will need this money for bigger schools and
higher quality teachers, Groups such as; Students Achievement Guarantee in
Education (S.A.G.E) provides dozens of schools with the resources to improve
student achievement through reduced classroom sizes. (Haig, 2000) Schools in
low-income areas apply for a five-year state contract to fund class size
reductions. Participating districts receive 2,000 dollars per student. When
first originated the program funded thirty schools in twenty-one districts. That
number has grown to an estimated five hundred schools for the 2000-2001 school
year. (Haig 2000) The many benefits of S.A.G.E come at a high price. State
funding for S.A.GE. , Is about 58.8 million dollars this year, which is up from
18 million last year. In paying for these programs such as S.A.GE to reduce
classroom sizes, the final costs exceed the funding that the state has put away
for education, and cuts into other government money (American school and
University, 1999)
The objective of the government to reduce classroom sizes will always be a
struggle for our society. Due to the fact that the population is always
increasing. The money is also another detriment to getting smaller classes,
because of the certain amount the government allots to education not being
enough. This is a problem that may never be solved. The money that government is
putting into programs such as S.A.G.E is greatly helping the fight against
classroom sizes. At least the government is working on the problem and showing
interest in the quality of education that the children of the future are
receiving. I feel that the government is doing an eccentric job in trying its
best to provide money for this issue in our school system. I only hope they can
continue to provide for the future generations of children to come.
WORKS CITED
Ehrenberg, Ronald,” Education Change in the United States” Academic Search
Publishing. New York 2001
The Journal, “National Education agenda to help students” Volume 27. Boston,
2000
America School and University, “Reductions come with costs” Volume 71 1999
Hiag Barbara “Small Classes, Big gain” UWM, 1999
www.ed.gov “Class sizes reduced”