Do+School+Cuts+Lead+to+Stressed+Students?

= By Sue Shellenbarger = = Published by Wall Street Journal = =5/25/11= = = = Researchers have looked at how [|bad jobs]affect adults’ mental health. One of the first studies to turn a similar lens on schools suggests a bad classroom climate can shape children’s emotional well-being too. (We [|discussed] how many schools are facing cash shortfalls in our [|previous]posts today.) = = First graders whose teachers are exhausted or lack needed materials show more signs of stress, says a [|study] of 10,700 first-grade parents and teachers published recently in the [|Journal of Health and Social Behavior]. Students in more negative environments, such as classrooms where teachers feel disrespected by their co-workers, also have more behavioral and emotional problems, after controlling for other factors, according to the study, led by [|Melissa Milkie], a sociology professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. = = “This may occur because teachers become more harsh or frustrated” when they lack the resources they need to teach properly, the study says. They may be discouraged that they can’t create a better environment. Or “it may also be,” the study says, “that dilapidated surroundings and insufficient materials symbolically devalue children in those spaces.” Researchers chose to focus on first-grade kids because they are at an especially vulnerable stage of development. = = The research comes amid growth in average [|public-school class sizes] nationwide. Over the past two years, budget problems have led several states to loosen restrictions on class size, to stretch teaching staff farther and cut costs. Before 2008, the latest year for which data is available, class sizes had been declining for many years in response to widespread public opinion that small classes are important to educational quality. = = More school funding cuts are likely in many states and local districts. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, among others, has [|proposed deep cuts in aid to schools]. And Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder also appears poised for a [|showdown] with teachers’ unions in his state over proposed education cuts. = = Readers, do you notice any changes in your children’s attitudes or well-being after your school has cut the budget? Are class sizes in your school growing? Do you think increasing class size is the right way to cut education spending? How do you see budget cuts influencing the quality of your child’s education, if at all? = = = = = = = = =

= = = = =News= =home=