Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-05
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continued from rirSt rage
theory, universal education was
then very largely selective,
Teaching was rssore limited and
more rigid, and more help came
from the home. And there was
less to learn.
Nowadays a high school, as
DR.. Carl F. Hansen. assistant
Washington school superintend-
emit, noted recently. SIS no longer
in position to select the strong
and discard the weak for men,
bership in its student body. II
must, rather. welcome all who
come to its doors and provide
the kind of curriculum that will
make further growth possible. "
The same could be said OF
schools at lower levels.
Children also have changed
AS one educator put it. "today's
children present new problems
|. The cumulative effects OF
broken homes, the tension OF
war. family transiency, lack OF
parental control, and the over
stimulation of moving pictures
radio and television are being
felt in almost every classroom. >
Teachers are required to teach
more to a wider variety of stu
dents. And education has had to
turn its focus more and more
away from the group to the in
dividual. because of the increas-
ing span of differences among
individual children.
But Washington schools still
are operating with much the
same classroom conditions they
had years ago.
Class Ideal Set at Is
How big a class can a teacher
properly handle?
A couple OF years ago the Ma
tional Education Association ir
one of its research publications
said the teaching profession NOV
recognizes that a modern schoo
program. with its variable anc
complex detectives, cannot be
fully achieved when classes en-.
roll more than Is pupils"
Some teachers have told thi!
writer they think they can handle
a few more and still do well
But Washington doesn't lool
good in NEA terms even if 70,
change the figure to the 80 which
teachers here have been trying
to get.
The situation here, as of las
October:
Only a relative handful of ele.
mentary classes were as small al
80. Seven hundred and seven.
teen clasSes-almost half-wert
over the city average of SO. Ovel
$50 classes-with 1000 children
lin them-were in the 40s anc
sos.
| Nearly 1000 of the 1861
Junior high classes-more thar
one-third-had enrollments ir
the 40s- or upper 30s. Home.
rooms averaged SO.
Almost $50 senior high classe.
were at least IS.
Worse at Close Range
Examined more closely. the
picture looks even worse. Most
of the smaller classes in the
Junior and senior high schools
ARE small because they have tc
be, such as shops which have
limited space and equipment.
Most of the big classes, on the
other hand, are in basic subjects
English. history, math, science)
where American children gener-
ally are weaker than they should
be and Washington children are
badly trailing the national aver
age. How can achievement be
pulled up if such classes are
overloaded? And practically all
of the city's junior and senior
high school students have some
of these big classes.
What makes a complete mock
cry of any attempt to maintain
high standards-if one is accept
ing the idea that Is or 80 is the
biggest practical class size - is
the situation in the elementary
schools, where far more than
half of the city's pupils are in
classes of from 81 to so.
Many present Washington stu