Larger-than-ever numbers of freshmen

here at Iowa State put us in a particularly difficult dilemma. As

public funding shrinks while the student population rises and more

class sections become increasingly necessary, more strain is placed

on professors and students. As a result, we’re forced to increase

class sizes, which leads to students losing a valuable part of

their education: contact and attention.

In the back of the auditorium, it’s

easy to let your attention drift. As the distance between you and

the professor increases, so does the mental bridge between class

and everything else. Finding it difficult to hear or see, students

distract themselves with Facebook or by making their plans for

after class. Besides the lack of available attention, students lose

the opportunity to question and interact with the professor and one

another.

Expressing yourself in class isn’t

just fun — it’s a valuable part of your education. However, it’s

exceedingly hard in a large class where being seen or heard is

difficult, even if you can conquer the sheer intimidation of

speaking in front of two, three or perhaps even 400 students. This

also applies to professors; it’s no easy matter to participate in a

class of 200 students, let alone teach one.

Large classes make it difficult for a

professor to know all of his or her students. They’re already

swamped with the duties of research and curriculum development, so

it’s no easy feat to attend to a few hundred students. It adds

stress to them and diminishes the quality for us as they give less

time with each student and less focus to the issue at hand.

There is no single or simple solution.

Teachers’ research is a primary source of funding; if we diminish

that in the expectation of greater course loads, we’re only making

the problem worse for ourselves. Graduate TAs are a good solution,

but their salaries are part of the funding problem, and no one

would advocate limiting student admissions.

The only solution should be a

compromise; students as well as professors are going to have to

give a little more. Students will have to deal with those larger

classes and take more initiative on their own. Professors may have

to teach an additional course each semester in order to limit class

size and offer more sections. Some departments have begun to

utilize undergraduate TAs for discussion groups. It’s not perfect,

but it gets students talking and thinking about the subject.

And the Legislature will have to keep

funding at least constant, if not restore it, if the people of Iowa

want to live in a state with a good education system that keeps

high school students around for another four years.

Iowa State continues to grow, and

unless there’s a drastic change in funding, class sizes are an

issue that both students and professors are going to have to deal

with. It’s our sacrifices together as a university that will create

a solution.