David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

between a class of twenty-five students
and a class of eighteen students? There’s
no question that the latter is easier for
the teacher: fewer papers to grade,
fewer children to know and follow. But
a smaller classroom translates to a better
outcome only if teachers change their
teaching style when given a lower
workload. And what the evidence
suggests is that in this midrange, teachers
don’t necessarily do that. They just work
less. This is only human nature. Imagine
that you are a doctor and you suddenly
learn that you’ll see twenty patients on a
Friday afternoon instead of twenty-five,
while getting paid the same. Would you
respond by spending more time with