Teresa DeBrito Character Analysis

Teresa DeBrito is the principal of Shepaug Valley Middle School. Although most people in the United States believe that small class sizes are highly desirable, DeBrito worries that the classes at Shepaug Valley are shrinking too much. This is because she has taught both very small and very large classes and knows that while large classes are exhausting to control, they’re usually more successful than incredibly small classes (contrary to popular belief). In fact, tiny classes are difficult to teach because it’s especially hard to incite exciting discussion with so few people. By outlining this dilemma, Gladwell suggests that it’s wrong to assume that students will do better in smaller classes, since this isn’t always the case.