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Smaller classes, better education

Whether it was an election year ploy or a genuine effort to help California students, is not the issue when it comes to giving children a better education.

This year hundreds of elementary schools across the state implemented a policy that would drop the student/teacher ratio from 32-to-1 to 20-to-1 in the first through third grades.

California was the first state in the nation to require students to wear uniforms and now again, it seems the state is ahead of the nation when it comes to the children and their education.

The benefits to the smaller classrooms are evident. Students get a better chance to bond with their teachers while the teachers get to hear every student read, see every student’s math homework and witness every student’s progress.

Principal Judy Devens-Seligman of Roynon J. Marion Elementary in La Verne said the policy has been “a dream come true. Teachers can teach more lessons and every child is an active participant in the classroom.”

She also said a major benefit is that now, “teachers can’t ignore a child who is struggling and can take the time after a lesson to assist a child who needs it.”

She also stressed that those students who need extra enrichment can be aided by the teacher.

Obviously, there are also ramifications of the policy. One is that the shortage of teachers in the state is now upward of 35,000. Last year, the shortage of teachers was 15,000 to 16,000. Because of this vast shortage, school districts had to hire teachers who may not be yet qualified to teach students.

“If we assume that students are going to have more contact time with their teachers there should be a qualified teacher getting hired to be there,” said Dr. Tom McGuire, chair of the ULV Education Department.

Teachers are being hired with four-year bachelor’s degrees and by passing the CBEST with the belief that they will attend the fifth year of college that has previously been required. Also, a number of qualified substitute teachers now have full-time teaching jobs, leaving a definite shortage among substitutes.

Other side effects are limitations of space and materials. Two classrooms are sharing the space that one class once inhabited. Libraries and computer rooms are being used for makeshift classrooms. At Roynon, materials are needed for nearly twice as many teachers than last year.

All said, students are more likely to blossom in an environment where there are fewer children vying for the opportunity to learn. Teachers have chosen their professions to make differences in people’s lives and sadly their jobs have been politicized all too often.

The questions remain as to whether the policy will be expanded to grades four and up, or if classrooms across the country will mandate a smaller class size and, the biggest question of all, will the program be considered a success and be continued in California.

Devens-Seligman said she cannot imagine “going backward” after this year. “This [policy] has given us the opportunity to do exceptional teaching and our children are learning more,” she said.

It would be a great benefit to future students if this policy is implemented throughout the system. The problems that schools are facing, in time, can be rectified.

School districts are to educate and hopefully, to enhance the lives of students. Elementary schools such as Gladstone and Roynon are showing that they are doing it in a better environment for those who matter most, the children.

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Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

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