" But Gulick and
Ayres[18] conclude that it is evident from the facts at hand that if
vision were omitted the percentage of defects would dwindle and become
comparatively small among the upper grades. This would probably be
still more true for the high school; but this whole field has not yet
been completely and thoroughly investigated.
It would be very desirable to have ascertained the size of the classes
in which the failures were most frequent, as well as the relative
success of the pupils repeating subjects in larger or in smaller
classes. But, as such facts were unobtainable, it is permitted here
simply to recognize the possible influence of this factor. It seems
deserving in itself of careful and special study. From the standpoint
of the pupil, the kind of subject, the kind of teacher, and the sort of
discipline employed will tend to influence the size of class to be
called normal, and to make it a sort of variable. Thirty pupils is
regarded by the North Central Association as the maximum size of class
in high school.[19] Surely the size of class will react on the pupil by
affecting the teacher's spirit and energy. Reference is made by
Hall-Quest[20] to an experiment, whose author is not named, in which
829 pupils stated that their "most helpful teachers were pleasant,
cheerful, optimistic, enthusiastic, and young." If such be true then
the very large size of classes will tend to reduce the teacher's
helpfulness.
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