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Huge Class Sizes and the Increase in Student Mental Health Problems—Connect the Dots!

December 23, 2013 By Nancy Bailey Leave a Comment

Post Views: 46

The New York Times has an article having to do with large class sizes. It’s all about the push to put more kids in classrooms and schools with fewer teachers and specialists. This is happening around the country in every school. It is happening without any thought to the recent tragic events in our public schools.

Consider it the de-personalizing of America’s public schools. It involves the push for high test scores and the elimination of anything that has to do with truly understanding students. This occurs despite the fact that parents with troubled children don’t care about test scores. They want support. They want help to deal with their difficulties. They hope to avert tragedies.

Where’s the conversation?

If you want burgeoning classes and a heavy focus on high stakes testing, recognize you don’t care about students and their mental health needs. Getting rid of special ed. teachers and counselors prepared in mental health and solely focusing on the push to college will not cut it.

It isn’t necessary. With good instructional design, classes could be arranged where students get some kind of interpersonal attention every day. Start by lowering class size K-3rd grade and create at least one small class in later grades where students can individually connect with teachers and counselors. Bring back special counseling and self-contained classes for students who need more help. It may be transitory assistance. It may be long term.

But today’s reforms appear to be about quick, cheap solutions that rely on those with no expertise concerning children and school organization. So both class sizes and mental health problems and tragedies will continue to rise. No one will connect the dots. How sad for America and her children.

Filed Under: Special Education Tagged With: counselors, de-personalizing, emotionally disturbed students, large class sizes, mental health, public schools, special education, specialists, teachers

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Longtime LD reading teacher, and other SPED areas. Author, Ph.D. Ed. Leadership, Blogging for Kids, and Democratic Public Schools.

NancyEBailey1
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daschwartzy Danielle Schwartz @daschwartzy ·
21h

Many kids dislike reading by middle school... the way we teach reading has life long consequences. Maybe they should measure the reading for joy gap. #education https://twitter.com/NancyEBailey1/status/1559884690106064900

Nancy E. Bailey @NancyEBailey1

Children must first learn reading is fun. Pushing phonics on young children means nothing if they can't connect it to the joy of reading. Jim Trelease knew the importance of reading aloud. His book holds the key.
https://nancyebailey.com/2022/08/17/reading-aloud-to-help-children-read-well-their-whole-lives/

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nancyebailey1 Nancy E. Bailey @nancyebailey1 ·
17 Aug

Children must first learn reading is fun. Pushing phonics on young children means nothing if they can't connect it to the joy of reading. Jim Trelease knew the importance of reading aloud. His book holds the key.
https://nancyebailey.com/2022/08/17/reading-aloud-to-help-children-read-well-their-whole-lives/

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susanoha Susan Ohanian @susanoha ·
12h

Dept. of Libraries partners with Dept. of Corrections to provide over $42,000 in books to state correctional facilities https://libraries.vermont.gov/corrections_partnership

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nancyebailey1 Nancy E. Bailey @nancyebailey1 ·
17 Aug

Children must first learn reading is fun. Pushing phonics on young children means nothing if they can't connect it to the joy of reading. Jim Trelease knew the importance of reading aloud. His book holds the key.
https://nancyebailey.com/2022/08/17/reading-aloud-to-help-children-read-well-their-whole-lives/

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nicholasferroni Nicholas Ferroni @nicholasferroni ·
16 Aug

When you are trying to sell something that you know is not going to work… https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1558849930948534273

The Hill @thehill

.@GovDeSantis on recruiting veterans to the teaching field: "Our veterans have a wealth of knowledge and experience they can bring to bear in the classroom. [...] For too long, the requirements to be a teacher have been too rigid." https://trib.al/1bPu78k

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