Can a Class Be Too Small?

In his book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Malcolm Gladwell opens a can of worms when he asks the question, "Can a class be too small?" When it comes to the number of students in a classroom, most of us assume smaller is better. I know I do. The low student-to-teacher ratio makes sense to me intuitively: the fewer students a teacher has in his or her class, the more individualized attention each student would receive.

And yet, Gladwell argues that "The small class is potentially as difficult for a teacher to manage as the very large class size." To test his theory, Gladwell polled a large number of teachers in the United States and Canada. In David and Goliath, he quotes some of those teachers as they offer plausible explanations for why small class sizes are problematic:

• Interactions are too intense. While there are, presumably, fewer interactions in a small class for a teacher to manage, the interactions that do occur are more difficult to handle. "There is simply no way for the cantankerous kids to get away from one another." There's no place for students to hide. According to one teacher, "the students start acting 'like siblings in the backseat of a car.'" 
• Insufficient "critical mass" for discussions and group activities. As a middle school teacher explains, "students are awkward and self-conscious and anxious about seeming too smart. Getting them to engage . . . can be 'like pulling teeth.'" Also, as one teacher states, "It's difficult to play games . . . the  momentum just isn't there." 
• Lack of peers at a similar academic level within a class.  In a really small class, it is harder to find others who are just like you. There are no subgroups. Complains one teacher, "The chances that children are surrounded by a critical mass of other people like them start to get really low." As one teacher explains: "What you need [as a student] is to have people around you asking the same questions, wrestling with the same issues, and worrying about the same things as you are, so that you feel a little less isolated and a little more normal." 
• Lack of diversity in discussions. Fewer students means fewer (if any!) participants in a discussion. If the group is too small, "it's like they have a muzzle on." 

The magic number for class size, according to the teachers Gladwell polled, seems to be between 18 and 30 students. Since I have trouble understanding why a teacher would actually prefer to work with so many students at one time, I would like to contrast my experiences as a homeschooler with the experiences of the teachers Gladwell interviewed. The main question I'm attempting to answer is this:

Exactly what is it about certain settings—in particular, the various discussion-based classes that are taught by homeschooling parents like myself—that makes small class sizes desirable?  

(Although my response is necessarily based on my experiences as a home educator, I imagine there are many other situations where small class sizes are preferable, too.)
In New Hampshire, one big difference between homeschooling and institutional schooling is that schools depend on certified teachers and standardized curriculum. Homeschoolers freely choose their teachers (certified or not) and their educational materials (standardized or not). My guess is that teacher training programs prepare teachers to use specific methods of instruction that are best suited to a group size of 18 to 30. If the class size doesn't fit within those parameters, teachers might view the situation as problematic. This is similar to the situation facing college faculty who are new to teaching online courses: teaching styles that worked well in a classroom don't necessarily translate well to an online audience. Likewise, those who believe MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses) are ineffective may be attempting to evaluate them with assessments that don't fit the new model.

As a home educator, I appreciate having only a handful of students to teach at any given time (one to three of my own children plus, for certain subjects, four or five others). With fewer interactions to manage at one time, the students have an opportunity to get to know each other well. The shy and introverted kids typically feel more comfortable speaking up in a small group than they would in a large group, so everyone has a chance to be heard. With fewer assignments to review, I can provide thoughtful, detailed feedback. I can also get to know each of the students personally, which allows me to tailor my instruction to suit their prior knowledge, interests, learning styles and personalities. By understanding what matters most to each student, I can frame discussions around topics that are more likely to be relevant and engaging to them.

Of course, the issues that Gladwell's teachers raised—"intensity" of student interactions, insufficient "critical mass" for discussions, and lack of relatable peers or diversity—are concerns for me, too, but not in the way people tend to expect.

Interactions Are Too Intense

Interactions can be intense between homeschooled students and also within homeschooling families. We are, quite literally, dealing with siblings in the backseat of the car. However, I'm not sure this is necessarily a bad thing.

One of the early lessons I learned from other, more experienced homeschoolers is that families who choose to homeschool do not have the luxury of being able to procrastinate about addressing relationship problems. If a family is going to be spending most of their waking hours together, day in and day out, it's imperative for them to work on getting along well. Avoidance isn't an effective option, at least not for very long. As the teacher in Gladwell's book observed, "There is simply no way for the cantankerous kids to get away from one another."

Homeschooling parents who confront problems as they arise, viewing conflicts as opportunities to learn important life lessons, tend to be successful at homeschooling. Those who don't? They tend to be miserable and burn out quickly.

Confronting uncomfortable feelings, promptly resolving differences, and communicating effectively: these skills are essential for getting along with others and, not coincidentally, part of what makes a small group dynamic practicable.

Insufficient "Critical Mass" for Class Discussions and Group Activities  

It's true: in a typical homeschooling community, the total number of homeschooled children is relatively small compared to the number in an average public school. The composition of the group is also fairly constant, as families tend to stay in one place (although new faces appear every year as more families choose this option). This means the process of making and keeping friends is both challenging and consequential. Friends can't be made, discarded and replaced on a whim; therefore, homeschooled kids must learn how to value and sustain the friendships they have. Their interactions with one another tend to be less superficial, deeper—or, to put it another way, more "intense."

It isn't that homeschoolers don't need a "critical mass" for discussions, it's just that it takes fewer students to reach that point. In this type of community—where students feel comfortable, self-confident, and eager to share what they know—it isn't necessary to have a large group to develop an engaging discussion. In fact, too many people at the table (i.e., 18 to 30) would be a hindrance. When a teacher has the pleasure of working with students who are all willing to speak up and express themselves honestly, without fear of ridicule or criticism, the small class size is an advantage because it offers more opportunities for everyone to participate equally. 

Lack of Peers at a Similar Academic Level Within a Class

"If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself."— Max Ehrmann, from the Desiderata 

I don't believe it is necessary for kids to spend the majority of their time with other kids who are the "same," academically or otherwise. Contrary to popular belief, most homeschoolers spend their time with kids who are "different"—different ages, different abilities, different priorities. What they discover from the experience is that they can empathize with people who are not like them. For all our seeming differences, we are all essentially human. Everyone struggles, everyone wrestles with challenges of one kind or another. Those are the lessons I have tried to teach my children.

For kids who are homeschooled, learning and teaching tend to go hand in hand, so it isn't necessarily the kids who are at the same academic level who help them to feel accepted and valued. They help their younger siblings and feel good about it. They learn from their more accomplished peers (who may be older or younger). Just recently, my teenage son had a friend who struggled with chemistry. The subject was easy for him, so he was able and happy to help her. In comparison, she excelled at writing, while he had to work hard at it. He looked to her for advice and feedback. By trading their expertise, the two of them experienced what it is like to be a tutor one day and tutored the next. They were humbled as well as empowered.

Naturally, there have been times when my children felt "isolated and abnormal"—a state of being that we'd all prefer to avoid. And yes, of course, there were times when my kids longed for more friends, or more friends who were like them in one way or another. From time to time, they also fell into the trap of comparing themselves to others. But all of these are inevitable, universal human feelings and experiences. I believe the key is to learn from them and develop good coping skills.

Lack of Diversity
Having access to diverse viewpoints is an admirable goal, but the teacher quoted by Gladwell doesn't explain exactly how a large class size would promote more variety in discussions. Is it reasonable to assume that more people necessarily equals more variety? In a situation where students are (in the teacher's own words) "awkward and self-conscious and anxious about seeming too smart," how is a larger group helpful?

The psychology of groupthink and ordinary peer pressure means class discussions—regardless of size—tend to be conformist in nature, especially when students are "self-conscious and anxious." As Susan Cain explains in Quiet, introverted students are less likely to speak out in larger groups, so the "variety" in a large class tends to come primarily from the louder, more assertive and outgoing students. Admittedly, the odds of a teacher having more of that type of student in a given class increases with the number of students, so perhaps having a larger class does make it easier for teachers. But what about the loss of variety from students whose voices are not heard? 

I believe real diversity begins with acceptance.

When it comes to the extraordinary homeschooling families I have had the pleasure of knowing, it is as if we all belong to the same small town, even though in reality we hail from different parts of the state and different economic, religious, philosophical and ethnic backgrounds. Our community includes many students who felt persecuted or ridiculed for their uniqueness when they were in school, so we understand well the importance of not only tolerating but fully accepting people who are "different."

In all the time I have spent among homeschoolers, I have never seen or heard of a single incident of bullying—if it occurs at all, it occurs rarely. Partly, this is because there is a strong adult presence at events, but I think it is also attributable to the high level of appreciation for individual differences. These homeschooled kids who have been growing and learning together, informally and by choice, seem to take diversity for granted. John Irving describes this type of "small-town" acceptance in A Prayer for Own Meany:

"I suddenly realized what small towns are. They are places where you grow up with the peculiar—you live next to the strange and the unlikely for so long that everything and everyone become commonplace."

The odd, the eccentric, the nerdy? They all have a sense of belonging in the homeschool community. As a result, students speak their minds freely, and a variety of perspectives are fairly well represented in our small group discussions. I think that may be why a small class is big enough for us.