Does Class Size Matter?

Students thrive to be the best they can be, and teachers want the same thing for their students. The average number of students in a high school course in America is 24.1 per one class. Whether this number is a good amount depends on the person asked. Classes around the country and the world have various sizes. Class size is a controversial issue. Many feel there are far too many people in each class, while others think that the number of students in a classroom does not really matter. Class size has an effect on student learning because it reduces the time spent with each student by teachers, increases the chance of distractions and disruptions, while the arguments against this are somewhat weak and easily disproven. Firstly, class size
matters because students will get less individual time and have a more negative experience with the teacher in larger classes. To begin, most classes at a school have the same length, regardless of size. This means even in a very large class, the students will receive the same amount of time to learn as a smaller class. Students in a larger class will not have the same time and attention from the teacher to ask for help and really understand the information. To continue, in large classes, teachers try to make sure everyone understands the basics of the material, but do not have time to check on each student and assess their level of understanding. This is a sizable problem because students cannot get the attention or help they need, and end up getting information from some kind of unreliable source. This lack of ability to receive assistance and truly understand the topics causes many timid or shy students to not receive the information they need, resulting in poor grades from good students, causing many unneeded problems for people who don't deserve them. Next, many teachers, including Robert J. Rios from John Hopkins School of Education, have stated that working in overcrowded-classes causes low morale and poor self-esteem among educators. The difficult feat of teaching a class that is very large has shown to take a lot of motivation out of many teachers. The fact that so many teachers start and continue feeling negative emotions shows that the average class size is far too high in some places, as teachers do not deserve to feel that way, and students in these classes have no way to learn at the same level as others. While less time to learn with poor teacher morale is a large issue, another problem caused by class size is the added disruptions and distractions larger class sizes create. Secondly, class size matters because it allows for more distractions and disturbances with larger classes.
To start, it is difficult for teachers to see all that is happening in a normal sized class, much less a large class. This allows for students to talk to each other and use their phones, with far less chance of being caught than if they were in a smaller class. This is bad because it allows students to do many negative things, including possible cheating. To continue, teacher statements, including one from retired teacher Jill Jenkins, explain that larger class sizes increase the chance of students communicating distractingly to each other. This causes disruptions of the teacher that are very impolite, as well as distractions of the entire class, making it harder to work for the students to focus. The distractions make it harder for people to work consistently, and students who want and thrive to be great should not be constantly thrown off course by a large, distracting class. Though there are many reasons why class size has an effect on learning, many believe that the class size has no correlation with
learning. Meanwhile, opposing views claim there is no effect from class size on student learning.
A common argument from this viewpoint is that lowering class sizes will not be successful because many of the methods teachers use are for larger classes. While this makes some sense, there is a much greater need for the smaller classes, and teachers can change. Allowing for smaller classes for a few years would give teachers time to understand the new situation and adapt, fixing the issue and canceling out the argument stated by the opposition. Next, people say that smaller classes means having to hire more teachers, which causes a much greater chance of poor teachers. This is a somewhat logical argument, however, the chance of hiring a teacher that cannot help the students is minimal, as without stressful class sizes, the workload is much more viable. Trusting that the teachers that are hired will teach well shows that the opposition’s argument is much weaker than the one stated throughout the essay. After this, the opposing side claims that the only aspect that needs to be changed in large classes is how successful technology is to interact with each student. This argument is logical in a sense, but as the essay has stated before, technology in classrooms allows for many distractions. Also, a statement from Jill Jenkins shows that the cluttered space and lack of interaction caused by these devices causes students to go to inappropriate websites and wastes time. To finish, larger class
sizes have a negative impact on interaction levels with the teacher, morale of the teacher, and amount of disruptions in class, while opposing arguments are easily disproved and shown to be weak by teacher statements and facts.
In conclusion, class size has an effect on student learning, as it allows for less individual time for students and more chances of distraction, while opposing arguments are easily disproven by factual information and statements from teachers. Students need to be able to understand the content they are learning, and larger class sizes just don't allow for the high level of learning many wish to achieve. The enhanced ability to talk and cheat is another problem with students in large classes. Though some feel that the amount of students in a class is not important, the main reasonings behind their beliefs are very flawed and easily disproven. To resolve these issues, smaller classes must be made in elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and even postsecondary education. Students deserve a large amount of care and individual help, as many are bright, interesting people who, with proper learning, can become all they want to be. People in America and other countries must call for smaller class sizes, as it is the best way to get students the teaching and the environment they need to thrive.