Let’s talk about one of most parents’ perennial concerns when the topic of schools come up: class sizes. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about public or private schools since the trend for both has been to move up in recent years. This is certainly a problem especially when research clearly show that students are less likely to remain engaged and participate in a larger
class setting.
That is why Smallville is committed to ensuring our class sizes remain small, it’s in our name after all! Our responsibility to our students and their parents go beyond the “work” of just being a teacher. That means that preparing lesson plans and getting the classroom ready are just some of the first steps of doing our job well. The bulk of our work that we find most rewarding is forming real and lasting relationships with our students.
The bonds we form with our students go hand-in-hand with the Montessori method’s principle of allowing a child to develop and learn at their own pace. The only way for our teachers to assess a child’s progress is to compare their observations in class against their knowledge of each individual child. This is why our teachers value parents’ input and why we make sure you,
as parents, are always involved.
There is only so much we are capable of learning about your children in the classroom even though we see them day in and day out. We still need your help to give us a fuller understanding of what your children are like at home, with friends, or with family so we can give them adequate support where and when they need it. We’re well aware that everything I just discussed can sound so overwhelming and time-consuming but rest assured that it can be done. But only if we remain committed to keeping out students-to-teacher ratio low.
Maria Montessori developed the Montessori method because she wanted children to experience the joy of learning. Too often children don’t experience this joy because their specific needs aren’t addressed and they don’t feel a connection to their teacher. We want to give each and every one of our students every opportunity to thrive, and we can only do that by making sure they feel welcome, accepted, and free to express themselves.