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Overcrowded Classrooms
"There’s too much noise, no space, there’s not enough time for the teachers too help us all. It'a like a jungle inside the classes."
By Evelyn Martinez
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United Teachers Los Angeles and the school district are still at a stalemate over a salary raise and other grievances launched by the union. Top of that list of grievances is the issue of overcrowded classrooms, with some teachers reporting over 40 students in English and Math classes, and upwards of a hundred students in some Physical Education courses. Youth Radio’s Evelyn Martinez is a student at Roosevelt High School, where classroom size is especially problematic. But as Evelyn reports, she’s not sure the current protests will improve her situation as a student. (January 25 on KCRW)
EVELYN
Noises everywhere. I’m going crazy trying to concentrate. I feel like I’m in a straightjacket surrounded by voices. In reality, it’s 40 students bursting through the door to get to their seats just as the bell rings.
GERARDO (on tape)
I think there’s just so many problems. There’s too much noise, no space, there’s not enough time for the teachers too help us all. It'a like a jungle inside the classes.
EVELYN
I agree with my friend Gerardo Gomez. My school Roosevelt High is one of the largest high schools in L.A. unified with over 5,000 students.
It’s really difficult to learn in this kind of environment. Imagine my Spanish class with 45 students. My classmates yell to me from across the room for help - why? Because the teacher is busy helping another student, and then another student. So strong students like me hardly ever get attention.
Teachers like Mr. Waldman are impacted by this too. He says relationships with students are important...
MR. WALDMAN (on tape)
But even you have a really nice attitude towards your students, and you really enjoy your students, if you have 40 plus students, it still makes it difficult because then you feel bad because then you don’t feel like your servicing your students as well as you would like to. And that is a horrible feeling.
MS. QUEMADA (on tape)
I believe that if a student comes here to learn and they need that class to go to college...that in spite of the size if they cooperate with the teacher, every student in there can learn and receive a passing grade.
EVELYN
That’s Ms. Quemada, our school’s principal. She’s trying to make the best of a challenging situation, but even she recognizes the issue is connected to controversy that goes beyond Roosevelt High School.
Recently, United Teachers of Los Angeles had a protest in front of the LAUSD downtown head quarters to demand a salary raise and a class size cap.
Elaine Labuff, a teacher from Lincoln Community Day School was there, wearing a white hat that read “classroom size cap.”
MS. LABUFF (on tape)
I think that we need lower class size. Our classrooms are so full. Sometimes in high school classes there’s 44 students in a classroom and not enough seats for every student.
EVELYN
It’s great to hear teachers fight for better pay and class size reduction. But honestly, I worry that maybe the salary issues are more important than reducing class size. Meanwhile, I’m sitting here in a class with too many students hoping that something will really change.
I’m not the only one frustrated. My friend Iliana Escobar shares a typical experience.
ILIANA (on tape)
Today in math class, our math class is very very crowded, and we needed calculators, but there wasn't enough for everyone so we couldn't do the calculator activity we needed to do.
EVELYN
My friend Iliana does see a solution, but is worried that she won't benefit from it.
ILIANA (on tape)
Really the solution is building a new school because this school is as big as it can be...it's as packed as it can be. They say they're building new schools...but that takes years.
EVELYN
It really doesn’t seem like there’s an answer to this coming any time soon. If people keep protesting about it now, maybe it will give my ten-year-old brother a better experience in high school. By that time, I’ll be graduating from college.
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