ratios

i am beginning to be convinced about the effect a certain ratio has on students in my classroom.

normal student to adult ratio in room 403A: 8:1
student to adult ratio with the tss worker there: 8:2
student to adult ratio with the tss worker and student teacher: 8:3
student to adult ratio with the tss worker, student teacher, new tss worker, behavior specialist, and student teacher's supervisor: 8:6

theory: the ratio of students to adults has an inverse relationship to the negative behavior of the entire class. as one decreases, the other increases. stated more simply, the more adults there are in the room, the more poorly behaved the students are.

today, our ratio was 8:6. what a terrible day.

(maybe this held true last year too ... i just never got to figure it out)