…extensive research in the reading difficulties of children show that large classes are the basic cause of failure in reading as well as in other subjects.

~Professor Arthur I. Gates, nationally known authority in the field of reading instruction. Elementary School Journal; February 1937.

When parents and teachers debate phonics and whole language, they might be ignoring a real problem facing their children in the classroom—the difficulty that steals a teacher’s ability to address the individualized reading needs a student brings to school.

That problem is huge class sizes! If you note the date of the quote above, it’s 1937!

Source: The Reading Wars? Who’s Talking About Reading and Class Size?