Would you consider PS if.....

[Mama~Love]

the class sizes were around 10 kids per class? What would be the pros/cons of that?? I don't know what the gender ratios would be.

I'm really considering it, but want to hear what others' might think about that.

[LuxPerpetua]

For our family, no, I wouldn't because class size, teacher/student ratios do not factor into why we choose to homeschool. Our main reasons for wanting to hs come out of our rejection of the institutionalization of learning itself, which would not be solved by smaller classes.

[elizawill]

well, if we were looking into public school as an option, than sure - class size would definitely be a considering factor (among many things). however, if we were totally content homeschooling (which we are) than how the public school runs itself is rather irrelevant because we aren't considering it as an option to begin with, ykwim?

[lach]

While large class sizes are one of the qualms I have with public school, it's not the whole deal for me. So it depends on other factors.

Why are the classes so small? Is there a particularly innovative curriculum being used that relies on small class sizes? Is it a program for special needs kids, with the specific special need being one that either I couldn't meet at home or one that I felt could be much better met with instruction by a trained instructor with a lot of peer socialization?

IMO there are pros and cons to both public (or private) and home schooling, and just moving one thing from one list to the other wouldn't necessarily sway me, unless that one thing also met a much larger need.

[Mama~Love]

Originally Posted by LuxPerpetua

For our family, no, I wouldn't because class size, teacher/student ratios do not factor into why we choose to homeschool. Our main reasons for wanting to hs come out of our rejection of the institutionalization of learning itself, which would not be solved by smaller classes.

Originally Posted by elizawill

well, if we were looking into public school as an option, than sure - class size would definitely be a considering factor (among many things). however, if we were totally content homeschooling (which we are) than how the public school runs itself is rather irrelevant because we aren't considering it as an option to begin with, ykwim?

Yes, I meant if you were considering PS anyway. I'm just thinking things through a lot, and what our options are.

Sorry if this should be posted somewhere else.

[One_Girl]

I would actually decide against PS with a class size that small unless I went in and observed the teacher doing a really awesome job of keeping the class on track and it was in a school with an big emphasis on teaching friendship and social skills. Smaller class sizes are often harder to manage and my dd doesn't do well in classrooms where the kids are out of control. I would also worry that in a smaller class she would have less chances of making friends, especially if she is the only one from a family that doesn't do mainstream things, and if a child is behind or significantly ahead in any way a smaller class size can mean less opportunity to have a friend. Friends aren't the only reason for going to school, but it is very hard to go to school and not have a friend. I went to a school with that ratio in first grade and my whole year was horrible because I didn't fit in with the other kids at all. I still remember the loneliness and isolation I felt then and how much happier I was when I got to go to the public school and actually make friends in second grade.

[tankgirl73]

I agree with some of the others... It would be a FACTOR yes, but not the whole deal. Smaller classes are better than larger classes, but if they're still just using the same old one-size-fits-all teach-to-the-test standard-curriculum stuff, then no, the small class would not be enough to get us there.

[ocelotmom]

We've considered public school for next year. The class size where we're moving is 15-16 at the elementary level, and this was definitely a positive factor for us. However, I think we're going to be sticking with homeschooling, as there are other, more important, factors involved in the decision.

[phathui5]

No. You couldn't pay me to use public school.

[AAK]

For my oldest dd 10 kids would be too small. For my middle, that would probably be a good size of class. She gets a bit overwhelmed in larger groups. So, if I was wanting or needing to put her in a "school" vs being taught at home, I would look positively at that class.

Amy

[elizawill]

Originally Posted by Mama~Love

Yes, I meant if you were considering PS anyway. I'm just thinking things through a lot, and what our options are.

Sorry if this should be posted somewhere else.

yes, if we were seriously considering PS, than a smaller class would be something i'd definitely want for our kids in looking at the options. i would still consider a lot of other things in the decison of course, but class size would be one of them for sure.

[moominmamma]

That's our situation, and no, we're not considering school.

Our local K-12 school has about 8 kids per grade. Class sizes are quite small. Most classes are about 17 kids (two grades per class) but they get split into separate groups using teachers' assistants for a fair bit of work. Meaning 6-10 students in a grade-level group.

It's still age-leveled compulsory schooling. It's still separated from home and community and real life. It's still all about directing the child through the narrow path of government-prescribed learning expectations at a fairly fixed pace, the scope and sequence being defined by the curriculum pundits and not by my child. It's still about measuring children against each other and against those governmental yardstick. It's still about making children fit the mold that makes them easy to manage and easy to evaluate in the classroom. It's still a social milieu with a small number of adults who are all authority figures and a larger number of kids competing for approval and attention from each other and the adults. It's still a rigid schedule of time away from home and family 180 days a year from early morning until mid-afternoon.

So no.

Miranda

[tankgirl73]

Originally Posted by moominmamma

It's still age-leveled compulsory schooling. It's still separated from home and community and real life. It's still all about directing the child through the narrow path of government-prescribed learning expectations at a fairly fixed pace, the scope and sequence being defined by the curriculum pundits and not by my child. It's still about measuring children against each other and against those governmental yardstick. It's still about making children fit the mold that makes them easy to manage and easy to evaluate in the classroom. It's still a social milieu with a small number of adults who are all authority figures and a larger number of kids competing for approval and attention from each other and the adults. It's still a rigid schedule of time away from home and family 180 days a year from early morning until mid-afternoon.

[RiverSky]

Nope. I am way past ever considering putting my children in such an institution short of an extreme emergency and truly having no other option. (I am pretty resourceful, so I have trouble imagining what that could ever be)

[ikesmom]

Mama-love .. if your facing a situation where your kids need to return to ps then having a small class is a def. plus. I am sure it is a struggle to decide what is best for all involved. I think there is a lot of us that think we would never choose to send our kids to school , but in reality it could be any of us if our circumstances change.

[meetoo]

I would always consider PS an option if Homeschooling stops working for us. Small classes would most likely be a plus in my book.

[mimom22]

We would not sent our children to any school. I think moominmomma captured my feelings the best.