Friday, December 4, 1998
Reducing class size may lower quality of education
SCHOOLS: Board concerned about instructor shortage, considers
raising salaries
By Maria Paul
Daily Bruin Contributor
In November, the Los Angeles Board of Education approved funds
to reduce the size of ninth-grade English classrooms to a proposed
20-to-1 student-teacher ratio.
Reducing the size of classes, however, inevitably creates more
courses and thus a need for more teachers. In past years,
class-size reduction has drawn thousands of non-credentialed
teachers into public schools as a result of a severe teacher
shortage.
Because of this, many are concerned the proposed reduction may
actually lead to a lower quality of education.
"I have seen class-size reduction turn into a scramble for
qualified teachers and suitable space," said Suzanne Shisley, a
Woodland Hills parent and elementary school worker. It turns
"education into chaos," she said.
A more productive method of raising standards of education would
be to offer teachers more money in order to enlarge the applicant
pool, said Brian Crosby, chairman of Hoover High School’s English
department and a mentor teacher for the Glendale Unified School
District.
"This would increase the chances of bringing more talented
people into the profession," he said.
In the nationwide rush to reduce class sizes, the state allotted
an extra $500 million to the Los Angeles Unified School District
specifically for class-size reduction this year.
Reactions to this proposal have been mixed. While 60 percent of
adults have expressed their approval of programs to reduce the
number of students per teacher, 90 percent say that one of the best
ways to lift student performance would be to put a well-qualified
teacher in every classroom, according to a statewide poll, funded
by Philip Morris Co., and the Stuart Foundation.
After setting aside the funding for class-size reduction, there
will only be $28 million left of the $6.6 billion education budget
– leaving just enough to give teachers a small 1 percent salary
increase.
"ln a society in which a profession is in some degree determined
by the amount of money earned, teaching – with its low salary –
tends to be disregarded and disrespected in general," said Al
Hutter, an associate professor of English at UCLA.
"Increased salary would motivate people to become teachers and
would increase the respect people have for the profession," he
said.
UCLA is currently facing similar issues recognizing the
importance of the role of the teacher and the benefits that
teachers should receive, as many of the graduate teaching
assistants strike to get official recognition as a union.
If the union is recognized, teaching assistants said they feel
that this will put them on the road to having their skills and
positions appreciated.
"In college situations, the teacher, or more specifically the
TA, is even more important, as in some cases, the TA is the first
and only contact students get with instruction in English," said
Blake Means, a third-year English student.
But views on the merits of class size and teacher expertise tend
to be mixed at UCLA.
"Although a higher salary would definitely bring in a higher
quality of teachers, if the class is too big, teacher expertise is
wasted," Means said.
"But, given a choice, very few people would pick a profession
known for being underpaid," she said
Although he admits that his first inclination would be to say
that the quality of teaching would be more important than class
size, Hutter considers that "both are important."
"Good TAs make a huge difference," he said.
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