Why Ratios Matter- From a Parent's Point of View

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I remember people telling me that kids don't come with instructions.  Still, I read book after book to find something, some answer as to how I was going to handle being a father.  I learned how to tend my daughter's needs when she was hungry, gassy, sleepy, or just needed a diaper change--pretty straight-forward stuff I thought, no problem, I've got this! I even became quite adept at packing her diaper bag!  As time passed by, we settled into a routine, and knew how to handle the day to day part of raising a child.  We came to love her more and more each day as our lives began to take shape around hers.  Well, those days became years very quickly and now it was time to trust her care to someone else.We looked around feverishly to find the right preschool program for her; the due diligence must be done!  I could pull into the parking lot of some of these places and just know that it wasn't right. I scrutinized every last detail of the school from the first second I walked in, to the second I walked out.  How clean was it?  How long has this teacher been doing this?  Is that what you call a playground?!? What will my child be learning? What do they serve for lunch? Can we get a hair sample from everyone employed at this school?  We exhausted our fair share of teachers before we finally figured out what we really wanted to know.  Will our child be safe?  Were these teachers equipped physically, emotionally, and with all the support that they needed to ensure my child's safety?

Overwhelmingly, it came down to this--how many kids will one teacher be responsible for?  Look, I've hosted a few children's birthday parties, and I've seen my home in the aftermath after just a couple of hours of just trying to keep the damage to a minimum!  That was with the help of my wife, and the few brave parents that didn't bolt out of the door as soon as kid party drop off etiquette allowed it!  I couldn't fathom how any one person could handle that, and I wanted to know exactly how they intended to do it.That's when I learned about the teacher to child ratio.  That became just about the first thing I wanted to know.  As important as it is that my child begin to build a strong foundation in mathematics, literacy, and science, knowing that her teacher had some back up was every bit as critical.  Having as many eyes on my child as possible put me at ease.  I knew full well how she got into everything, I mean, let's face it, my kid was unruly at my house---I'm a man, we have a high threshold when it comes to letting our kids run amok before we actually do something about it!  So, how many teachers would be there to look after my one child wrecking crew now that she has joined forces with a whole battalion of kids with the same appetite for destruction?!?That's exactly why the ratio was a major point of concern, and ultimately, the school that we chose had one that was quite favorable.  After three children, I am now a decorated veteran-parent and I've seen things that would have made a first time parent want to ball up in a corner and cry---and maybe someday we'll get back to those--but for now, let's just hold the fort and make sure our teachers have plenty of reinforcements!

Chris Derrick is a father, an author,
and a blogger. You can find his
musings on life, parenting and living
in the South at:
http://myunregrettablelife.blogspot.com/