Freshmen Overcrowded

The past couple of years the freshman classes have been under 480 students, but surprisingly this year the freshman class has 520 students.  With that many students, it makes it hard to maneuver around and get to class on time. 

     Ana Torres, a freshman student said, “I have twenty-nine to thirty people in each class and in some of my classes there are even more students than seats.”  Having so many students in one class would make it difficult for the students to talk to one another and also for the teachers to talk.  When walking in the freshman hallway, a class of at least twenty-seven students was overheard doing a group project.  In comparison to a sophomore class, the freshman class was obviously much louder. Vincent Griffin, a 9^th grader said, “The classrooms are too small and there are too many freshmen students in that one small room.”

     Ms. Anderson, a 9^th grade teacher said, “My largest freshman class has thirty-four students.” Class overcrowding adds many problems, Ms. Anderson added, “Having [up to] thirty-four students in my class every day, makes it a less personal relationship. It’s much harder to talk to a student one on one.”  A larger class makes cheating easier and makes the teacher’s job harder.  Also, when teachers hand out class assignments it is harder to control the noise level in the classroom. There are about four teachers per core subject; this can create large class sizes. 

     Mrs. Hudson teaches an Advanced Earth Science class during B8. Observing her class, it seemed clear that the desks were pushed together and everything seemed stuffed in her room. After hearing about the obvious growth in the freshmen class this year, she replied, “Classes are much bigger this year and I do find it harder to move in the hallways.”  The hallways are much more crowded especially with everyone standing in large groups, and I find it harder to discipline them while in the hallways.”  Since the freshman class is so big and teachers not able to discipline, it seems that students feel like they can get away with fights and bring in inappropriate things without getting caught. When there are so many freshmen in the hallways, it is even hard for sophomores, juniors, or seniors to get to their classes that are located in the freshman hallway.

     Due to the increasing number of freshmen students it is harder for teachers to discipline.  Also, it makes it harder for them to communicate with their students in their learning environment.  Students in other grades, teachers, and administrators cannot move through the freshman hallway without bumping into people.  The freshman classes can’t be changed, but it is encouraged for students to move quickly throughout the hallway and be respectful to teachers. 

Rebecca Statler and Deziree Jackson, Staff Writers