Disadvantages of a Small School

When I was growing up, I attended a small school. The students in junior high and high school were all thrown together in the same buildings and consisted of about thirty students per grade level. My mother and aunt had attended the same school, and I had some of the same teachers they had in my own classes. My grandmother taught second grade. For the most part, I liked attending a small school. Since there weren't that many students, there were no strangers. Even new students names were known by the end of the day. Your parents knew the other parents because they went to school together. Unfortunately, if your parents had good memories like mine did, this could mean they knew the unpleasant things your friend's parents did in school, such as skip class, smoke weed, or party obsessively. Naturally, this resulted in the banning of select students from my circle of friends. I thought this was ridiculous until I became a parent with a child in school.

My husband and I found ourselves faced with the decision on whether our children should attend this small school we attended or a larger one. My husband had attended the larger one also. We get a choice on where to send our kids. We just so happen to live right on the line for the two school districts. The school bus from the smaller school comes down our road. For the kids to attend the larger school, they must be driven about twelve minutes to the bus stop or thirty minutes to the school. We considered this along with our past experiences in making this difficult decision.

The first disadvantage could also be considered an advantage depending on the situation. Everyone knows everyone, literally. Most of the students have attended the school their whole life and know every student that attends. While you may never really feel like an outsider, there are no secrets among the campus. Teachers spend their breaks discussing the students and swapping stories. If you tell the wrong person a private detail, it can be throughout the whole school by the end of the next class. If you share a locker with a student who likes to be the bearer of negative news, you have to carry all of your notebooks with you lest they accidentally see something private you have written and share it with everyone. When I was in school, a girl suffered embarrassment and humiliation when her notebook fell from her locker exposing her private love letters to her secret girlfriend after her locker buddy opened the door. Today, it wouldn't be as big of a scandal. Back then, it was horrific.

Every school has cliques. A small school has fewer cliques with more people in them. The girls' clique consists of the popular girls, the not so popular girls, and the friendly girls that will talk to everyone. The boys' clique consists of jocks, geeks, and the troublemakers or bad boys. There isn't a wide variety of groups for students to fall into like at a larger school. For the most part, the cliques aren't overly asinine to each other. You enter seventh grade and suddenly the group you've always been has now become a clique.

Another disadvantage of a small school is the lack of privacy. You can not easily avoid anyone, though you find yourself wishing you could desperately. With limited students, your friends end up dating your ex-boyfriends and vice versa. If you have an argument with someone, everyone in the school anticipates and encourages a fight.

A highly irritating disadvantage of a small school is the kids with the last names. You know the ones I am talking about if you have ever been or are in a small school. I'm referring to the kids with the same last name as the board member or faculty member or anyone with relative importance. These students are entitled to special privileges. These may include endless warnings instead of detention, never sitting on the bench during ball games, and having their own special dress code. These students can never do wrong. They have permanent immunity.

A disadvantage that can have a big impact on academics is the selection of extracurricular activities, sports, and classes offered by the school. We gave extensive attention to this area. It's not really an issue until junior high though. A smaller school is limited on what it can proved a student. The small school I attended offers more now in all areas, academic and sports.

One big advantage the small school has is the familiarity it offers. The campus hasn't changed much and some of the same teachers are still teaching there. The principals have changed. That is a good thing. There are still some of the same names there as when my husband and I attended. Presently, the smaller school satisfies our criteria. Overall, the smaller school meets the academic levels of our children while providing a safe environment. Also, if you thing about it, the disadvantages of a small school can build character. After much thought and discussion, we chose the smaller school, disadvantages and all.