School Size, Does it Matter?
The purpose of an education is for every student to gain more knowledge day by day. Education is a lifelong thing. As it is stated in the Clarke Student Handbook, “...the learning process is ongoing from birth to death.” Education is such an important part of every individual’s life, but what is the best environment setting for students? This environment being compared and contrasted between large public schools and small public schools such as Clarke.
As students, we are taught to keep going with our education. Students should go to college and study a career that will let them live life comfortably and stable. The size of the school does make a difference to how easily a student is able to enroll into a college. It also makes a difference how students get informed when dealing with colleges.
I recently gathered three different perspectives about the subject matter. Diana Sagastizado, a sophomore at Clarke, was once enrolled in larger schools. Her elementary education was spent in large schools located in Utah and Des Moines. I asked Sagastizado what big differences she saw between the schools in Des Moines and Clarke. Her response was that, “disadvantages to a big school are that there is not much recognition given between people who go there. The only people that students get to know and interact with are those who have similar schedules as them.” Another disadvantage was the requirement for school uniforms. Sagastizado pointed out that if students did not take their uniforms then they would be sent to the “in school suspension” room, for lack of responsibility. A last point that Sagastizado brought out was that the criminal level was shown to be higher; she did not feel as safe as going to Clarke.
Over the years, Clarke has been growing and welcoming new students from different places. Another student at Clarke who used to attend a larger public school is junior, Sebastian Avalos. He attended Rosa Parks Central Community School located in the state of New Jersey. I asked Avalos, what do you think are the major differences between the school in New Jersey and Clarke? Avalos responded that ,“it was more difficult to get to know people, due to the large classes.” Furthermore, he felt that the technology was not always easy to get to as it was more limited, because of the vast amount of students. Just as Sagastizado said, Avalos also agrees with how the school uniform is something that was required in larger schools. The advantage, as Sagastizado and Avalos pointed out, is that a larger school means that there is more diversity.
Unlike some students, teachers get to choose if they want to teach in small or large schools. I interviewed Mrs. Siefkas, new Clarke English teacher for the 2016-2017 school year, to find out her perspective on the teachings in large schools and small ones, like Clarke. I asked Siefkas to give a reason as to why she wouldn’t choose to teach at a large school, and she responded with,” I wouldn’t get to know as many students on a personal level.” Siefkas likes small communities, because students are able to interact with each other more. Siefkas concluded with how small schools give out more loans and grants for students who plan on attending college.
Clarke, over the years, has been growing bigger, but the location is a good bet that students will still be able to connect with each other on personal levels. The futures of Clarke students are in the great hands and teachers prove that they only want the best for them. Even though Clarke may be considered a small school, it offers a great future for generations to come.
