Back when classes were really big

By GERRY WARNER
Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Feb. 9, 2007
The BC Teachers Federation (BCTF) is beating the drum again about class size and class composition, saying more money needs to be put into the system to create what it calls proper "learning conditions."
As a former teacher myself, I appreciate teachers' concern over the relationship between the number of smiling faces looking up at you and your ability to stick to your lesson plan on any given day. The more Davids and Janes in the class -- perhaps I should say Emmas and Ethans -- the more potential obstacles and distractions the teacher has to overcome to teach that perfect lesson. Classroom challenges and demands have also vastly changed since I was beaming down on my charges those many years ago in Rossland. Back then, if you'd said things like substance abuse, cell phones and kiddie porn no one would have known what you were talking about. Those were kinder and gentler days though they were not without challenges of their own.
I remember receiving a call one evening from a distraught Grade 6 student who had taken the class hamster home for the weekend and the poor creature had a confrontation with the child's pet cat with predictable results. Iwent over to the house to dispose of the remains and console the student and I remember being shocked at the dilapidated condition of the house. Like today, poverty also existed back in the 70's. So did kids from broken homes, kids with learning disabilities, bright kids, problem kids, kids that you knew were destined for greater things and kids that you knew weren't going anywhere. That's teaching, simutaneously the most inspiring and frustrating job you could ever hope to have. And in that respect, it really hasn't changed that much over the years except for one thing.
There's a lot fewer kids to teach these days.
My Grade 12 son just began his final semester of high school in Kimberley last week. He came home quite excited the other day with his new timetable, which includes Biology 12. And why was he so excited? That's easy. His Biology 12 class, a heavy course, had at the time the timetable was made up all of four students in it. You read that correctly, four! Now, it's possible a few more students will enrol this week, but even if it was to double in size -- an unlikely prospect -- it would have all of eight students in it, not exactly bursting at the seams.
Two weeks ago, I attended a press conference where BCTF officials from Vancouver made a pitch for more funding to deal with so-called "class size and class composition" issues they feel are not being met according to the guidelines of Bill 33. They cited a lot of numbers and talked about difficult learning conditions, teachers burning out and students' needs not being met. Funny, there was no mention of biology classes with four students in them.
I'm not trying to be facetious here. Teachers are quite correct in saying there is a definite relationship between class size and optimum teaching and learning conditions. But what teachers aren't talking about is the dramatic, some might say dangerous, decline in enrolment that has enveloped theprovince and turned the entire teaching world upside down. According to Education Ministry figures, province-wide enrolment has declined by 42,500 students since the 2000 - 2001 school year. That equals a city roughly the size of Vernon or Penticton. During the same period, education spending in the province has increased by close to $1 billion or $958 million to be exact made up of 551 million in operating grants and $407 million in special one-time grants.
Given these statistics, which I'm not aware of anyone contradicting, how could any reasonable person avoid concluding education is being funded very generously in B.C.? Indeed, funding is increasing at a rapid rate at a time enrolment is rapidly falling. Yet we hear teachers crying for more funding. Is there some kind of disconnect happening here? The situation is no different in Southeast Kootenay (Cranbrook) District 5 where enrolment has declined by more than 2,000 students since amalgamationin in 1997 with a similar drop occurring in Rocky Mountain (Kimberley) District 6. In fact, out of 60 school districts in the province, there are only four where enrolment is increasing.
Obviously education has entered a new era of downsizing in B.C. whether we like it or not. Just this week, two more proposed school closures were announced in District 5 and undoutably there will be more. Class sizes are declining all over the province. More than 95 per cent of all classes in B.C. have 30 or fewer students, according to the latest ministry figures. Compare this to the 36 Grade 6's I had in Rossland those many years ago or the class of four my son now attends.
Perhaps its time for the BCTF to get real.
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