Some Fields of Pastoral Care

The Importance of Small Class Size

The Importance of Small Class Size

There are many disadvantages to overcrowded Sunday School classes, especially for young children. Therefore, we recommend keeping the number of students in each class as small as possible, for the following reasons:

1. To Maintain Order:
   It is often difficult for a teacher to maintain discipline in a crowded classroom, particularly since children at that age are naturally active, talkative, and easily distracted.
2. To Provide Individual Attention:
   It is hard for a teacher to care for dozens of students individually. In a smaller class, every student can participate in answering questions, and the teacher can ensure that each child understands the lesson. The teacher can also have them repeat what they learned to confirm their comprehension. In overcrowded classes, individual attention is often lost, and the same applies to monitoring each child’s spiritual life.
3. To Facilitate Visitation:
   When the number of students is small, the teacher can visit them all, know each one by name, understand their situations, and find it easy to check on them personally.
4. To Allow for Growth:
   A teacher with a class of 10–20 students will care about growing the class. When it increases to 30–40, it can then be divided into two organized groups at the start of the year. But if the class already has 40 or 50 students or more, it is unreasonable for the teacher to aim for further growth when he is already overwhelmed by the current number.
5. To Maintain Quietness:
   In a small class, the teacher can speak in a calm, low voice, and the students can respond in the same tone. When the class is large, the teacher must raise his voice to be heard, and the students respond loudly, causing noise and disruption — especially in small church spaces.
6. To Preserve the Teacher’s Humility:
   A teacher should not boast about having a large number of students when the spiritual level of the class is weak, and when he is not fulfilling his duty faithfully.
7. For Faithfulness in Service:
   In a small class, the teacher can assign homework, organize special notebooks for each student, and review them all. This is much harder in a large class. The same applies to various activities under the teacher’s supervision — such as memorization, hymn learning, competitions, and oversight of the children’s artistic, academic, and spiritual growth.

Because of the need to keep the number of students per class small, we must also consider another important topic: ensuring there are enough teachers. This, in turn, calls for greater attention to the preparation and training of servants.

We shall leave this topic for another time, as the Lord provides.

Article by His Grace Bishop Shenouda, Bishop of Education, “The Importance of Small Class Size,” Al-Keraza Magazine, August 1966

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