Large Schools Vs. Small Schools - Which is Best for Your Child?

When it comes to picking the home of your dreams, many people have one major question; How good is the school? Education is so important in our children's lives. Parents, of course, want the absolute best or their children. How does school size affect a child? I can only answer this question from a personal point of view.

My children started out in what many people would consider a small school. In our area, it is average. To my son....it was huge. Both of my kids had about 66 children in their class. These 66 were broken down into 3 classrooms of about 22 kids per teacher. My daughter did wonderful here. I beleve she'd do great anywhere though. Wether it be in a big city school, or with school of fish, she'd adjust and excel through it all. My son,however, is another story. He started out in a very small pre-school, consisting of 10 kids. He only went three days a week for two and a half hours each day. He did pretty good. Then between pre-school and kindergarten, because he is such a mama's boy and we wanted to get him used to the all day school hours, we put him in summer school. This summer school is a fun program open for all the children in the school. A fun way to extend their education into their summer. He didn't do so well. After about a week, he finally quit puking. It was so hard to send him to school upset, but I knew I had to. After that week, he adjusted and did ok. He did not want to go though. When kindergarten started we thought his experience in summer school would make it easier for him. We were wrong. He again had an upset stomach for about a week. The school secretary jokingly said she was going to tie a bucket around his neck! He came through it, and eventually got ok with going to school. He never truly shined though.

In this bigger school they used a bell system. There seemed to be people/kids everywhere all the time. They had somewhat strict lunch room rules; they had to sit where they were told to sit, they had to try eveything on their plate, when they were done they had to put their heads down, and they only had a certain amount of time to finish their food. My daugher always got good grades, though I felt that her last teacher didn't really show an interest in her. She was just a kid in school, and that was all. My son did ok. He was having a litle trouble with his letters so they put him in a letter program during school hours. It did help, but not as much as I expected it too. Both kids had homework often, my daughter had it almost every night. This school was all about school.

We are now living in a much smaller area. The school is very small. There are a total of 59 children, that is pre-school through 8th grade. The classes are joined; 1st and 2nd grades are together, 3rd and 4th, 5th and 6th, and 7th and 8th. Pre-school is in it's own class. My daughter is now in 3rd grade and is of course doing great. The amazing thing though? My son is doing great! He got nervous during open house, but has not had an upset stomach from anxiety even once. He is loving every minute of it. I got a call from the school one day saying he had a stomach ache from something he ate, and when I got there, he didn't even want to leave. Big change! He feels so comforable in this school. I believe he is really beginning to finally shine!

This school has no bell system. Even if there are kids here and there, there are so few of them it doesn't seem so bad. Lunchtime here is much different. They can sit where they want, eat whatever and however much they want, and can take as long as they need to finish their lunc. If they take a cold lunch, the cook will even put it in the fridge to keep it cool. My daughters teacher here really seems to care about all of her students. My son is getting really good grades, but they decided to put him into tutoring because of his self-esteem. He is right where he should be for a 1st grader, but he is pretty had on himself. Tutoring has helped so much. He does it after school, one day a week. The principal has even pulled him aside during school to work with him. It is a real family effort. They do not have homework. The school believes a parent should leave work at work, and the child should leave school at school. This school feels like family.

In conclusion, I believe if you have a child that has trouble with crowds, like my son, a small school may be your answer. It has been one of the best decisions for our family that we have ever made, and I would do it again in a second.