3 ms·

There's a multitude of evidence that teacher-student ratios are associated with positive outcomes: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C33&q=teac

There's a multitude of evidence that teacher-student ratios are associated with positive outcomes: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C33&q=teacher+student+ratios&btnG= https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C33&q=tea...

em-bee 7y ago
in traditional classroom learning, sure. but that doesn't imply that a different teaching method altogether can't have benefits as well, and possibly out-do a good teacher-student ratio. or put differently, traditional schooling is so bad that it is necessary to make classes smaller in order to give each student enough attention and opportunity to speak. with individualized learning, as for example in montessori, that teacher attention is not needed because in montessori the teacher attention is individualized too. that is, while the teacher is paying attention to a particular child or group of children, all other children in the class carry own with their own work. so each child may get less time with the teacher, but that time is of much higher quality. it's a completely different learning dynamic, and one that interestingly is capable of allowing a single teacher to handle larger classrooms.
- ksdale 7y ago
  I think this is a great point. When we tell people we're thinking about homeschooling, one of the most common responses is something along the lines of, "What makes you think you can do better than an educational professional?" And my response is that I don't have to be a better teacher than a teacher, I have to be more effective at teaching my _one_ child than a teacher is at teaching my child as one of 30 children of widely differing abilities and behavior. I've spent a lot of time in coaching and educational roles, so I feel pretty capable as a teacher, but I think the point remains that the best way to teach a roomful of children is unlikely to be the best way to teach an individual child.

em-bee 7y ago

in traditional classroom learning, sure. but that doesn't imply that a different teaching method altogether can't have benefits as well, and possibly out-do a good teacher-student ratio. or put differently, traditional schooling is so bad that it is necessary to make classes smaller in order to give each student enough attention and opportunity to speak. with individualized learning, as for example in montessori, that teacher attention is not needed because in montessori the teacher attention is individualized too. that is, while the teacher is paying attention to a particular child or group of children, all other children in the class carry own with their own work. so each child may get less time with the teacher, but that time is of much higher quality. it's a completely different learning dynamic, and one that interestingly is capable of allowing a single teacher to handle larger classrooms.

ksdale 7y ago
I think this is a great point. When we tell people we're thinking about homeschooling, one of the most common responses is something along the lines of, "What makes you think you can do better than an educational professional?" And my response is that I don't have to be a better teacher than a teacher, I have to be more effective at teaching my _one_ child than a teacher is at teaching my child as one of 30 children of widely differing abilities and behavior. I've spent a lot of time in coaching and educational roles, so I feel pretty capable as a teacher, but I think the point remains that the best way to teach a roomful of children is unlikely to be the best way to teach an individual child.