effect of overcrowding on school performance
by: Naomi Morales
An overcrowded classroom has an affect on the teachers, students and the school itself. A lot of teachers will say, "the reason a student is failing is because they don't apply themselves to the work, to the class discussion and they don't take the chances outside of the classroom to ask for help". The problem is not that the students are not applying themselves, it's the fact that the teachers have too many students in their classrooms and can not provide attention to every student that walks through their door. Teachers are spread too thin, students try and try but the institution isn't helping by accepting more and more students but not hiring enough teachers, the school's do not have the space because in order to expand a school there must be funding, but the school's performance is in the gutter because the students are not given the proper attention and education. Overcrowding does not only affect the school's education outcome, but it also results in schools being shut down because they do not have enough students. As a result, a low performance school is more likely to suffer from overpopulation, and a school with higher performance record has a lower student to teacher ratio.
Teachers become overwhelmed
While conducting this research on overcrowded classrooms, one member, Elexis Mitchell, set up an interview with high school math teacher, Russel Kerr. Mr.Kerr previously taught at other schools besides a Chicago Public School. He has first hand experience with different sized classrooms and how it effects the environment. When asked about what the least amount of students he taught was he replied with "about two years ago I may have had 21 kids in one class". When asked what the largest he ever taught was, he replied "last year, i had 33 students."According to his interview "The larger classroom is more stressful [to the teacher] because [...] there is more potential for distraction." With an overcrowded classroom, it's more difficult for a teacher to take control because if a teacher is discussing a topic with one group and another is off task in a small spaced classroom, it's easier for other groups to get off task, and cause a louder disruption towards the students that would like to get their work done in class. According to Mr.Kerr the larger the class "the more work [for] us, more kids to keep track of,and more walking around to groups trying to keep kids on task". But when it comes to a smaller classroom "there are not as many students to keep track of, and they tend to work better when there are less students." Overcrowding effects the classroom's atmosphere, management, and cause teachers to become stressed, especially those with a family. Teachers with families and other responsibilities outside of school have to "manage their time more effectively while in the [school] building," a task that proves difficult with a large amount of students to teach.
Overall effect on school
Overcrowding is a costly experience at Wildwood Elementary. Principal Mary Beth Cunat says "Last year, a cohort of 8th grade students did not have a permanent room. Instead, they used whatever room was empty during any given period.“ If the fifth graders were at gym, they would use that fifth grade room, it was just really a scramble,” (WBEZ 91.5). Overcrowding has become a real issue, instead of new buildings being built to handle the capacity, students are forced to go look for a classroom or an empty hall, basically wherever there is space for them to have a class. The students are taking time out of their class time to get up and find somewhere they can actually learn. If this is happening to 8th graders, who are going to be freshmen in high school, they will not be properly prepared. School performance is being affected majorly; school's become overcrowded more and more each day and it affects the kids and everyone in the school: the teachers,the students,the librarians, the entire staff. When an overcrowded school's performance is compared to a school that has no overpopulation, who do you think will be on top? The school with less students because it has enough resources, teachers have enough time to discuss with every student, the classrooms are more active, and smaller classrooms means more efficient results, while larger classrooms are harder to control and keep track of.the students.
Works Cited
Kerr, Russel Interview by Elexis Mitchell. Personal interview. 27 Feb. 2014.
Vevea, Becky. "WBEZ 91.5 Chicago." Chicago Public Schools faces overcrowding at same time it closes schools for underenrollment. N.p., 12 June 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. <http://www.wbez.org/news/no-simple-answers-chicagos-severely-overcrowded-schools-107651>.