Committee on Design

I want to discuss education in public schools because this affects us as architects. But more importantly, it affects our children. As our country goes broke, teachers are losing their jobs and the class sizes in public schools is increasing. What does this mean for our children? How are they affected?

Qualified professionals know that class size really matters. In fact, it matters more than any other factor. It's more important than testing, more important than administrative tactics, and more important than technology. It's a well researched topic. A personal relationship between a student and his or her teacher is more valuble than any other thing we can provide.

Some will say that class size isn't that fundamental to education, making it a great way to save money. If we were to stretch this shallow argument to complete poverty, let's just pretend that our country is completely broke, with no money, and we have to become a third world country. Our children would have to walk down the street to get their education in a parking lot, because the school building would be gone, the buses would be gone, and so would the football program. What would be left? What would be the foundation of education? It would be two things. First, you would need a teacher. Second, you would need a appropriate sized class so he or she could communicate with their students. Class size is ground zero to education. Everything else builds from there. So don't let anybody try to outsmart this very simple issue with smoke and mirrors. It's not complicated.

Class size does matter in ways people are only now getting a handle on. Expensive private schools love to brag about small class size, as do the most elite universities. That's why rich politicians send their kids there. They all know it matters. The most serious pain of oversized classes is felt in public elementary schools where young kids are learning to read and write. When 6 and 8 year olds get shafted by larger class size, the damage done to their education is reprehensible and immoral. Elementary schools in particular are ultra sensitive environments where real damage can be done to our society if we continue down this path of carelessly stripping away teachers, cramming more and more kids into single classrooms.

Let me share with you some well hammered numbers to know. These are numbers all adults in this country have a responsibility to learn and respect. Your children are counting on you to defend this. If your child is not getting their critical subjects, like math, English and science, in a class size within these ranges, then they are getting a rotten deal, and you should complain to your school board and your state legislators.

PreK (3 and 4 year olds): maximum 12 students per class.
K and Grade 1: maximum 18 students per class.
Grades 2 and 3: maximum 20 students per class.
Grades 4 and 5: maximum 22 students per class.
Grades 6 through 12: maximum 25 students per class.
(source of data: AdvancEd).

It's time to draw a line in the sand, as the dwindling dollars gets fought over in government. Don't let children be the victims of the irresponsible actions of adults. Our country's future depends on how well we educate our children. The path to a good education is far more simple than you may think. Only a thief will try to make that path look complicated. Don't let them do it!

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Rich Farris, AIA
Author of "Principles of Creativity: Architecture's Insight to Invention" (available at Amazon)
Dallas, Texas
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Edward Wimmer AIA
Scottsdale AZ
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A valid observation, but let's not forget that what happens in the classroom is of greater importance.  Education must teach the skill to reason and make decisions of all kinds from the first day a child begins education outside of the home. Parents must be partners with the school in the education of their children so the classroom learning continues in the home.  Sure, lowering the quality of education is tied to the lowering of funds for education, but that begins with lowering the real commitment to education by the people; the parents and non-parents alike.  Lowering that commitment financially is a direct result of the selfishness of people who have moved from placing value on education, knowledge, and rational thinking to them placing emphasis on paying lower taxes so they have more money with which they can consume.  Yes - without consumption there is no economy, but the quality of the economy is tied to the educator of the consumer and the producer. The downward trend of spending less on education under the cloke of preventing wasteful spending is a part of why the economy has declined.  The people who made decisions that produced the false prosperity of the past decade might have not made those decisions if their own education had prepared them to avoid making selfish decisions.  Design is decision making in a context of aesthetics, functionality and cost, and that is a fundamental influence that needs to be understood by everyone, not only those with "design talent", and that is not taught at an early age no matter the size of the classroom.  With better consumer knowledge of the full meaning of design, the consumptive nature of the economy would stabilize and more resources be available to reinvest in education, thus reversing the current downward trend.  

With all due respect, Mr. Farris's position on this issue seems utterly simplistic.  I do resonate with several points made by Mr. Wimmer, in addition to the point made by Mr. Farris, which certainly has truth to it.

But the success of education really boils down to three things:
a. The desire of the student (a respect for learning and an aspiration to succeed at it - fostered in the home)
b. The student's docility, or respect for rightful authority (of the teacher, administrators, esp. parents - fostered in the home)
c. The teacher's desire for - and ability to focus on - the students' greatest good.

In the absence of these "things" we are fools if we expect real learning to succeed.  All of these are based on a stable and healthy family culture - both at the level of the individual family and in the broader culture/society.  ...Not ever increasing financial inputs, not shiny new buildings, and not just small class sizes.  It comes back to the family - which is of course the first school for every child - and the formation of children.

I suppose from Mr. Farris's perspective, this position classifies me as a "thief."  I suggest that he pass that sentiment along to my wife who homeschools our children because we cannot afford private schools on an architect's salary, and we see no better way to form well-rounded, informed citizens for the many challenges that lie ahead for our nation  -  foregoing the benefits of a second income, all the while paying taxes to support the public education system, while not burdening it by adding my children to the already large class sizes...  Seems to me the opposite of theft...

Mr. Farris proposes the hypothetical "third world" scenario - I strongly, but respectfully, disagree with his conclusion that "Class size is ground zero to education. Everything else builds from there." 

No. Rather the Family is the fundamental building block upon which the education of children is established and flourishes.  (BTW, "ground zero" is the wrong metaphor.)  Strong families in any society - third world or first - contribute to the building up of that society in every way.

* I appreciate Mr. Wimmer's attempt to turn the conversation toward "design."  But why this conversation is taking place in an architectural forum is beyond me.  Regardless of that, I just had to weigh in.  Thanks.

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Adam Hermanson AIA
Principal
Integration Design Group, PC
Henderson CO
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-25-2012 10:16
From: Edward Wimmer
Subject: Public Schools - A LIne in the Sand



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Edward Wimmer AIA
Scottsdale AZ
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A valid observation, but let's not forget that what happens in the classroom is of greater importance.  Education must teach the skill to reason and make decisions of all kinds from the first day a child begins education outside of the home. Parents must be partners with the school in the education of their children so the classroom learning continues in the home.  Sure, lowering the quality of education is tied to the lowering of funds for education, but that begins with lowering the real commitment to education by the people; the parents and non-parents alike.  Lowering that commitment financially is a direct result of the selfishness of people who have moved from placing value on education, knowledge, and rational thinking to them placing emphasis on paying lower taxes so they have more money with which they can consume.  Yes - without consumption there is no economy, but the quality of the economy is tied to the educator of the consumer and the producer. The downward trend of spending less on education under the cloke of preventing wasteful spending is a part of why the economy has declined.  The people who made decisions that produced the false prosperity of the past decade might have not made those decisions if their own education had prepared them to avoid making selfish decisions.  Design is decision making in a context of aesthetics, functionality and cost, and that is a fundamental influence that needs to be understood by everyone, not only those with "design talent", and that is not taught at an early age no matter the size of the classroom.  With better consumer knowledge of the full meaning of design, the consumptive nature of the economy would stabilize and more resources be available to reinvest in education, thus reversing the current downward trend.  

Yes, I am being utterly simplistic about education and class size for good reason. Education is being torn apart by rather absurd complexity, technology and testing systems that are not making our children better educated. And firing millions of teachers is not the answer either. There are too many problems being created out of thin air, that were never the real problem in the first place. 

The research on class size is rather huge and interest in this subject is gaining momentum. There are class size movements starting up around the country as more parents learn the value of a student having a real relationship with their teacher. I got to experience the problem first hand when my second grade son was put in a classroom with 24 kids. The quality of education dropped dramatically, as very few second grade teachers can work with that kind of load for that particular age group. If you don't believe me, go visit a second grade classroom with 18 students, and compare that to what you see in a classroom of 24. The difference is staggering, and there are plenty of studies that validate the damage done by overpopulation.

We need simple fundamentals to protect the fundamentals of learning. When that gets destroyed, we end up with a political nightmare in state governments, filled with way too many "experts" who think they found a shortcut to brilliance with extremely complex solutions to simple problems. It reminds me of that story where the USA allegedly spent millions of dollars trying to figure out how to get a fountain pen to function properly in outer space. The Russians spent $0. They used a pencil.

This does relate to design discussion for two reasons. First of all, a society that values student-teacher relationships needs us architects to build plenty of classrooms, to foster learning. Secondly, the critical mass of student groupings in a particular classroom, which varies by age and maturity, requires a bit of insight on the specific use of space by learning groups, control of attention span, and redirection. Such knowledge can help explain why these population numbers found in education research have real meaning in education. Architects can help prove the case visually. It has already been proven statistically. We get to add a visual dimension to the proof. Architects can play a strong role in defending education of children, using design knowledge as our weapon. I feel sorry for what teachers of today have to put up with. It's saddens me to watch. 

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Rich Farris, AIA
author of "Principles of Creativity, Architecture's Insight to Invention" (Amazon)
Dallas
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The reasons you state as being relevant to your problem are actually wholly irrelevant. Architectural design is not a solution for political issues. Classroom sizes cannot be mandated by anything that the architects do. Even if the architect were to design smaller rooms, the school officials will still overcrowd the classroom by using chairs instead of desks, or by using smaller desks, or by placing them more closely together. All the efforts of the architect are for naught, in such cases.

The chicken plant tragedy in North Carolina illustrates my point well: the architect can design all the code required means of egress, and even exceed the requirements, but they are useless when the building manager chains all but one means of egress shut.

I really don't see why you chose an architectural forum to vent your issues.

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Charles Graham AIA
Architect
O'Neal, Inc.
Greenville SC
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-26-2012 00:28
From: Rich Farris
Subject: Public Schools - class size

Yes, I am being utterly simplistic about education and class size for good reason. Education is being torn apart by rather absurd complexity, technology and testing systems that are not making our children better educated. And firing millions of teachers is not the answer either. There are too many problems being created out of thin air, that were never the real problem in the first place. 

The research on class size is rather huge and interest in this subject is gaining momentum. There are class size movements starting up around the country as more parents learn the value of a student having a real relationship with their teacher. I got to experience the problem first hand when my second grade son was put in a classroom with 24 kids. The quality of education dropped dramatically, as very few second grade teachers can work with that kind of load for that particular age group. If you don't believe me, go visit a second grade classroom with 18 students, and compare that to what you see in a classroom of 24. The difference is staggering, and there are plenty of studies that validate the damage done by overpopulation.

We need simple fundamentals to protect the fundamentals of learning. When that gets destroyed, we end up with a political nightmare in state governments, filled with way too many "experts" who think they found a shortcut to brilliance with extremely complex solutions to simple problems. It reminds me of that story where the USA allegedly spent millions of dollars trying to figure out how to get a fountain pen to function properly in outer space. The Russians spent $0. They used a pencil.

This does relate to design discussion for two reasons. First of all, a society that values student-teacher relationships needs us architects to build plenty of classrooms, to foster learning. Secondly, the critical mass of student groupings in a particular classroom, which varies by age and maturity, requires a bit of insight on the specific use of space by learning groups, control of attention span, and redirection. Such knowledge can help explain why these population numbers found in education research have real meaning in education. Architects can help prove the case visually. It has already been proven statistically. We get to add a visual dimension to the proof. Architects can play a strong role in defending education of children, using design knowledge as our weapon. I feel sorry for what teachers of today have to put up with. It's saddens me to watch. 

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Rich Farris, AIA
author of "Principles of Creativity, Architecture's Insight to Invention" (Amazon)
Dallas
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Good point from Mr. Farris.

It is worth remembering that large classes are usually inserted ( crammed) into inappropriately sized and minimally designed rooms. Thus a child at the extreme right or left end of the front row may have an extremely diagonal line of vision to the chalkboard or screen or map or display. In mathematics class this invariably means being unable adequately to read the formulae written by a teacher who does not realize that 
some students are deprived of the critical information.

The teacher points out on parents' night that the child has some kind of mental block toward Mathematics.
The parents, stunned by this revelation, seldom ask to sit in the child's seat in order to experience her point of view.
And so they take her to a remedial tutor who declares that the child has no real problem understanding math.

The child returns to the same seat for the rest of the term.....and fails at math.

The administration still complains about class sizes as hampering the teacher. The talk at the School Board is about square footage and dollars.

No one, except perhaps a stray architect-parent points out that the room and rectilinear seating may be designed for teaching but certainly not for learning. 

"Of course he is just an architect. What does he know about learning disabilities?", says the school psychologist.

The child becomes a drummer or a fine professional singer of pop-songs, returns to the school as a visiting rich alumna and always maintains that "I was never any good at Math. So I decided to do something creative, just like my dad who is an architect".

The late Ezra Ehrenkrantz in the 1960s School Construction Systems Development, designed for nine California school districts, emphasized that each child in class generated as much heat energy as a 75 watt bulb and that harnessing this by good insulation could save dollar costs. He also pointed out that there were about sixty five different sizes for "standard" four foot windows and that a shared modular system would also save energy and big bucks in the manufacturing process. Superintendents praised his ingenuity. LEED certifiers would have loved it all.

Not a word was said about making spaces appropriate for learning. 

Mr Farris' critical approach to the furniture layout in his hotel room in Hawaii could well serve as a model for a critique of classroom design.

We have not done with the problem in reducing classes sizes. That is a fiscal and administrative matter. 
The problem of appropriate design remains.



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Patrick Quinn FAIA
Albany NY
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I am not involved in the design of K-12 public schools but I specialize in K-12 independent schools. The class size numbers you outlined are exactly what independent schools utilize. Some charter schools, christian schools and diocesan schools exceed those limits from time to time but not too often. On an editorial note, the primary difference that I see in public versus private education are two words... discipline and manners. The charter school movement has recognized this and I expect to see the number of charter schools expand dramatically unless public educators...and legislators in some cases...understand this dilemma. Inner city charter schools such as KIPS schools and other are achieving great success by mandating personal responsibility, discipline and good manners. Seems like others would figure this out so that the majority of children can benefit and succeed through a safe and sound educational experience. 
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William Monroe AIA
WGM Design Inc.
Charlotte NC
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I don't want to play the "blame it on the parents" card. But part of the difference between charter or private schools versus the public system is how much the parent cares about his or her child's education. A parent will go way out of their way and to great lengths, hurdles, and obstacles to get a kid into a charter school or work an extra job to pay for a private school. There is an expectation put onto a private school that as a business model makes sense to adhere to the the expectation. One of those expectations is class size. Also as a business, both private & charter schools afford the luxury of being able to add another teacher at the last minute if enrollment demands it. That's not so easy with public schools with very strict budget concerns.

And please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that parents of public school kids don't care as much. And of course there are very valid exceptions to both sides.

Simply put sometimes class size is a pure product of budget, and as a result a child's education pays the price. 

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Gordon McKenzie Assoc. AIA
Tartan CAD Services
Lewisville TX
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-26-2012 13:33
From: William Monroe
Subject: Public Schools - A LIne in the Sand


I am not involved in the design of K-12 public schools but I specialize in K-12 independent schools. The class size numbers you outlined are exactly what independent schools utilize. Some charter schools, christian schools and diocesan schools exceed those limits from time to time but not too often. On an editorial note, the primary difference that I see in public versus private education are two words... discipline and manners. The charter school movement has recognized this and I expect to see the number of charter schools expand dramatically unless public educators...and legislators in some cases...understand this dilemma. Inner city charter schools such as KIPS schools and other are achieving great success by mandating personal responsibility, discipline and good manners. Seems like others would figure this out so that the majority of children can benefit and succeed through a safe and sound educational experience. 
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William Monroe AIA
WGM Design Inc.
Charlotte NC
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