Bigger is Better?

Recently the University of North Texas has seen a steady increase in the number of students enrolled, which now approaches 35,000. With some classes filled to capacity at 500 students, the University has decided to take an interesting approach to resolve space issues. This fall the University began construction of a new auditorium style classroom which will hold nearly 2,000 students. The plan will be to consolidate multiple sections of courses, like freshman English, into fewer, larger sections. “Students want to be in larger classes with their peers because it creates a sense of community” said one University official. “It only makes sense; it’s hard to feel like your taking the same class when you’re not there at the same time and place.” The University is already making plans to create even larger lecture halls in the coming years to accommodate future growth.

In addition to the added sense of community, students have noted that larger classes make it easier to learn. “I’m not worried about getting called on in class or being required to participate — it’s not really my learning style. I feel I learn more when I can just listen to the lecture and take notes”, said one student. “Sometimes I don’t even have to go to class because I can get the lectures online now. This is a real plus for me with my busy schedule.”

The new classroom will cost approximately $10 million dollars to complete and will include a number of amenities to aid in learning such as plasma screen T.V.’s and stadium style seating. The University hopes to secure the needed funds by asking each student to commit to donating an undetermined amount of money each month for several years. “We don’t want to say how much it will cost each student because each student is different and we hope they will seriously consider how much they will be able to contribute over the next 3-5 years.”

Sounds absurd?

If “bigger is better” doesn’t work in the classroom, why do we think it works for the Church?

4 thoughts on “Bigger is Better?”

I’m not sure it really works as an analogy… because we’re just talking about insane classroom sizes at UNT… it’s just a part of the whole… we don’t necessarily think it’s crazy that a University has 35,000 students. In fact, we can probably find a lot of benefits to that size of a school – though we wouldn’t want all 35,000 coming together at the same time to often (save a few Saturday afternoons each fall)… just think that by pooling all the money that it brings in and all the extra resources and opportunities a school of that size is able to provide, the students might get a better education than they would at a school with 250 students (I said might). There’s also bound to be much more diversity in a group like that and the students reap the benefits of that as well as they mature socially (hopefully anyway).

Is UNT really serious with those huge lecture halls and student donations or are you just funnin’ us?

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While the University has 35,000 students, everyone doesn’t fall under the teaching of just one person or a handful of people. A University of 35,000 is broken down into smaller parts each with it’s only level of control (colleges, departments, classes). We don’t think of Universities of this size as being absurd because the teaching happens at a much smaller level (the classroom level). Each classroom resembles a small church — 1 teacher to 10-200 students.

This is my problem with large churches — the teaching emphasis is placed on Sunday morning in the largest group possible. This is evidenced by a trend to build larger and larger sanctuaries as the church grows. Instead, why not plant more churches, each with it’s own leadership. Who is to stop these spin off churches from pooling their funds together with the “mother church”? The United Methodist Church actually does this. I mean, we’re ALL a part of THE Church anyway, right?

And no, UNT isn’t building a massive lecture hall (that I know of) — but even the one they have now that seats 500 blows my mind. My largest class at SFA was maybe 80.

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I work for a school that has about 350 students on a good year. I have to say that it is the most diverse campus I have ever been on. Last school year we had students from 23 different countries…yes 23. Every year we average about a 12-14 percent international population. That’s an astronomical percentage when you’re talking about college campuses. Most schools have maybe 1 percent. Our classes average about 10-12 students in sizes. Student interaction is incredibly high. How many places can say that ALL the students know each other? The personal attention that our students get really helps them strive at the next level. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen students barely make it into college walk across the stage at graduation with a 3.4 gpa. 98% of our students can transfer to any school that they want when they leave our tiny little school. I definitely believe that a smaller school benefits everyone whether they know it or not.

As with the church, most congregants are like college students. To really get the benefit of the teachings of scripture a smaller, intimate setting might make all the difference in the world. I think that the “bigger has more resources” thought has become too much of a crutch for a lot of churches. While I admit it’s sometimes nice to have them, by all means they are not necessary. Too often people and churches hide behind that excuse to justify their existence. I see a lot of the same mentality with large schools and churches. The emphasis is to see how many people they can get through the doors.

That’s just my thought. More is just more sometimes. I think everyone needs to take a few steps back sometimes and focus on the small things. Often times the smaller things can have the biggest impact. Sit back and simplify. You’ll be amazed at what can happen.

I think I might copy this over and use it as a blog entry…

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