Meet Hamburger, Mac and Cheese, and Jalapeño. They are the only students in Advanced Art here at East Leyden. Sure, there’s another class going on in the same room, but they are considered their own class because they have a different artistic focus: drawing. What’s interesting in having a class of three people, what are the pros and cons of having a class so small?

Hailey Heard (aka Hamburger), a senior, really enjoys her Advanced Art class. She says the best thing about having such a small class is the easiness of deciding on a new assignment as a class. “As a class you decide what your next assignment will be, and with the class being so small, it makes it easier to decide what project you’re going to do. This makes each project more suitable for all of us. It’s easier to decide in a smaller group.” She also brought up what she thinks is the most negative thing about the class. “It gets lonely,” she laughs. “With so little people in the class, if one person is absent, there are hardly any people here. It’s even worse if no one is here, and you’re the only one sitting at the table.”

Mariel Labajos (aka Mac and Cheese), a junior in the class, also shares a pro and a con to having such a small class. Labajos says the best thing about having a class this size is the amount of focus you get from the teacher. Even though Lynette Rosen has another class to worry about at the same time, it is a lot easier to focus on a smaller tight-knit group. “With a class this small it makes it easier for Ms. Rosen to focus on us because there isnt a lot to distract her. She is looking at three projects a day from our class. We also have a closer bond with our teacher because there are only three of us when we have a discussion. It makes it easier for us as the students to communicate with our teacher.”

Jonatan Ortega, (aka Jalapeño), another junior in the class, shared his idea of a positive thing about the class. Ortega enjoys that having a smaller class allows everyone to get closer. “With a small class it makes it easier for us to become more tight knit. I’ve gotten close to my two other classmates and it makes it easier to work with them when we’re all close.” Even though he jokes around saying that they’re all “stuck together” he’s happy he got the classmates he did. He’s so happy with the class he can’t think of a negative thing about it.

Even though Ms. Rosen jokingly said her favorite part about having such a small class is having less names to remember, her real reason is the connection she gets to make with the students. “I get to really know them and their art work,” says Ms. Rosen, “and I can tailor the class to what they like.” The only negative thing does not exactly pertain to their Advanced Art class. It deals with the two classes she manages in the same period. She has to focus on AP Studio Art as well and has students heading in different directions.

When Heard tells the story of how they gave each other their nicknames, she can’t help but laugh “Well, on the first day, we had to play the name game, and Ms. Rosen, said to make a nickname for everyone in our class. So we gave eachother food nicknames based on the first letter of our names. Mariel got Mac and Cheese, Jonatan got Jalapeño, and I got Hamburger.”

“It was all a part of a name game that we played in class, but we didn’t have to keep the nicknames for so long. But we did,” she laughs.