Horry County Schools Supports Increased Class Sizes in Principle

The following, copied email, was sent on Thursday, November 4, 2013:

 

 

 

Socastee Family, Dr. Elsberry, Members of the Board of Education, and Selected Media,

 

Horry County Schools’ support of the idea that limiting class sizes interferes with digital learning and that good teachers are hindered by having fewer students in their classes is promoted on page B-23 of our district’s Race to the Top – District grant application. 

This contention cites Horn's and Staker’s research in an article titled “The Rise of K-12 Blending Learning.”  Horn and Staker work for the Innosight Institute, a sponsor and supporter of our application.  Horn is the co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute, a promoter of “disruptive innovation” and the tenets of our district’s application.  Both Horn and Christensen have MBAs from Harvard Business School.  Christensen holds a bachelor degree in government from Brigham Young University and Horn has a bachelor degree in history from Yale.  Staker graduated from Harvard College in economics and also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Although Christensen has taught at the college level, neither he, Horn, nor Staker have any credentials in the field of education.  Yet the research they have done is that which is cited on page B-23 of our district's grant application.

Everything I can find points to the fact that the driving force behind the seismic shift which will soon be occurring in Horry County Schools is the aggressive marketing by businesses of their products and services.

I will be addressing the South Carolina State Board of Education next Wednesday on the agenda item concerning class sizes.

 

 

Bobby Chandler

 

International Baccalaureate 20th Century World Topics (12th)

International Baccalaureate "AP" U. S. History (11th)

 

Phone (843) 293-2513 (ext. 2228)

Socastee High School

 

"Do not squander time, for that's the stuff life's made of."  (from Gone With the Wind)