I found all of the pictures on this post at schools.nyc.gov, the website for the N.Y.C. D.o.E. If you look carefully, you will see that the teacher-student ratio appears in most cases to be five or fewer students per teacher. That's pretty awesome, if you ask me. Who wouldn't want to work under those conditions? The neediest kids could really be helped. But, alas, it is only an image of the world as we would like it to be.
With ratios like that, NYC teachers would have a much better shot at more effectively helping students. It's common sense. Kids would have a much better chance at succeeding in life. We don't need small schools as much as small class sizes. Small class size would be an investment in the future that could offer a great return for the kids who demand and merit more attention. Unfortunately, ed. "reformers" have decided that privatization, one common curriculum, harder tests and stripping teacher of their dignity are better solutions than smaller class size.
So, for the time being, I must live with the overcrowded realities of NYC classrooms, only vicariously experiencing a soothing and beneficial class size in the publicity snapshots at the D.o.E. website. But imagine for a moment if we could create the world we would wish to see...and imagine if it was for more than just a photo-op!
No comments:
Post a Comment