The Positives and Negatives of Primary and Secondary Education

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Primary and Secondary Education May 25, 2015 Public education has been an ongoing battle for power between local and national officials for many decades. As we look through the ages we discover that the subject of education has been a constant among towns, cities and villages from the beginning of time. Learning and education is the cornerstone of any society. Overpopulation is another problem with children getting the education they deserve. Our teachers have to teach twenty five to thirty children at a time. This causes the average child to be neglected because the teacher cannot focus on his or her individual needs. Overpopulation in schools has been shown to have an adverse effect on student learning in a number of ways. Typically, overpopulated schools are in inner city or urban neighborhoods where funding to expand facilities is limited. A school is defined as overpopulated when it operates with an enrollment rate exceeding capacity. How schools deal with this problem affects student learning since overpopulation can hinder student learning, reducing the quality of instructional planning and lowering morale among students and teachers. (Seattlepi.com) Overcrowding affects teachers, classroom activities, as well as instructional planning. Teachers have less planning time and fewer resources in overpopulated schools. They spend most of their time managing the overcrowded classroom, instead of providing quality instruction and trying innovative teaching strategies. Teachers in overpopulated schools also experience higher rates of burnout, higher absenteeism rates and higher levels of stress. In 1993-1994 a study on four overcrowded schools in New York City found that students scored significantly lower on mathematics and reading exams than students at schools at or below capacity. The proportion of students passing the tests of reading and math proficiency
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