What you can reasonably do with 20 you can't with a class of 160. When children learn to think, they are all going to think differently. That makes it hard to interact with them in a group setting and still encourage thought. Impossible? I won't say that. But I would call it well beyond my abilities in a classroom setting.
It takes him 13 hours to give each student's paper 5 minutes of attention. That is what is passing for "individual interaction". This may be very far from being the whole problem, but it definitely is a problem.
This is probably the greatest issue: teachers are expected to deal with their students in an individual, personalized basis... But they are constrained on all sides by the syllabus, the final exams and the sheer amount of paperwork.
Edit: also, the fact that the tests do not include relevant 'reasoning' questions makes them worthless.
I disagree. We teachers have plenty of time to properly assess student work. But we also have to give accurate, consistent and fair grades and usually written feedback as well, and that's what usually takes forever.
An hour a day with 30 kids is enough time to meaningfully interact with each student if you're not wasting the whole class period lecturing.
Non-meaningful interaction might be saying hello, asking if the student is present, asking the student "Where is the homework assignment you were supposed to turn in?"
Meaningful interaction is checking in with the student regarding their understanding of the course material. Providing clarification if the kid is confused on some point. Allowing opportunities for the student to ask questions. That sort of thing.
What you can reasonably do with 20 you can't with a class of 160. When children learn to think, they are all going to think differently. That makes it hard to interact with them in a group setting and still encourage thought. Impossible? I won't say that. But I would call it well beyond my abilities in a classroom setting.
It takes him 13 hours to give each student's paper 5 minutes of attention. That is what is passing for "individual interaction". This may be very far from being the whole problem, but it definitely is a problem.