Class size counts.
Every extra desk and body in the room means less space and less time to connect with students in small groups and one-on-one to give them the customized attention they need.
Arne Duncan, Bloomberg, Bill Gates, and the rest of their ilk, none of whom ever actually taught in a classroom, can kiss my ass.
There are so many factors that affect learning. Just the simple space issue is always ignored. It's not like, when class sizes rise, we suddenly get bigger rooms. Our rooms just get more crowded.
In those crowded rooms, those who struggle with tuning out distractions long enough to focus on learning are on the ropes. Those of us who have spent time managing classrooms know that students are better able to focus and use time productively if they have some personal space. That's why we put those with the biggest issues at the corners, at the ends, and next to empty space whenever we can. Of course, overcrowding the classroom severely restricts our ability to do this, and makes it much more difficult to create a productive working environment.
Mathematically speaking, the more students in the room, the fewer I'm going to be able to offer one-on-one time or small group time with each day, and the shorter and shorter that time will get. That affects learning.
This bullshit starts with the premise that students are "waiting for better teachers." While there are weaker teachers and stronger teachers, in my 30 years in public education, the number of weak teachers I've worked with in 2 states, different districts, large and small schools, have been a very small fraction of the whole. I, along with every other teacher I've ever worked with, am all for improving ALL teacher's practice. That said, teachers aren't the problem with public education. Deformers like Duncan, Gates, Bloomberg, Broad, Rhee, and others are.
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