When I taught sailing about 8 years ago we had some lasers and some optis. The optis sat most of the time unused because the kids (most age 9-12) preferred to go 3 per a laser rather than get in the slow optis. The only good thing about an opti is that you don't have to convince the kids to stop capsizing for fun. The optis are also a pain if you have any current because they are not powerful enough to fight it, especially for an inexperienced sailor who might blow a tack or two.

Kids enjoyed racing but by far a trip to a sandy shore a mile or two away (which ends up as a competition to see who can get to shore first) to have lunch was the favorite activity.