Our school is unique, I think, because a parent can request a specific teacher for her child. We’ve done this once before when there was a real bad apple teacher in the 1st grade. I swore to myself that I would never do it again because my daughter needs to learn how to deal with all sorts of people in life and there didn’t appear to be any horrendous teachers after 1st grade. Well, now I’m hearing gossip that a teacher in the next grade is pretty “awful” in that she can’t control the class and the kids don’t seem to learn as much in her class. I have only heard this from 2 people so it may not be a fair judgment. I’m thinking though that if many good caring parents select the other teacher then the class for the “unwanted” teacher will have a higher proportion of kids from less caring, uninvolved families. So basically, the “bad” teacher ends up with the most difficult kids in her class and this makes her even less-effective as a teacher. I also think that we have been very fortunate this year to have a teacher that makes accommodations for my daughter even though she has not been formally identified.
I’m now leaning toward making a request for the other teacher. Do you think that I am being too overprotective? I’m going to talk with my dd’s teacher about it soon.
Terry
Re: Selecting a teacher for next year
I have always requested teachers for my kids at the elementary level. I think that it’s important to have a teacher that is flexible and can relate to my kids. All I do is write a letter to the principal over the summer and she grants my request. I’m wondering now if part of the reason my older daughter didn’t have any problems in elementary school is that I did choose her teachers to be those who can appreciate her. Now that she is in middle school she is having more problems. Although most of the teachers in my daughter’s elementary school are terrific, working in the district where my kids go to school gives me some insight into who I DON’T want teaching my kids! So, no I don’t think it’s overprotective at all! In fact, I’ve been considering who might be best for second grade. Not all teachers really deal well with adhd issues. If it makes a difference between your child having an entire school year of a positive learning experience or a nightmare then it’s worth doing.
bad apples
I don’t think any parent is doing the wrong thing when they request a teacher for their child. While it’s true there are many different people in the world and it can help us to learn how to get along with them, I don’t know that the best place to do that is a school classroom — especially if it’s a young child we’re talking about.
Is that more important to a young child’s well-being than learning to read? Young children are learning so many things in school - including not to be afraid of teachers and not to be discouraged. When a young child has a ‘bad apple’ teacher, that can very much get in the way of learning the many other things they need to learn in their first years of school. Young children can be long discouraged by one year in a ‘bad apple”s classroom.
No teacher is the right teacher for every child. Learning how to get along with people is one thing - learning in the classroom of a ‘bad apple’ is another. Your school has a very wise policy and I would take advantage of that policy. These early years in school are so important.
Perhaps ask yourself this - would you take your children to a bad doctor because they need to learn there are bad doctors in the world?
If you’re in doubt - you have every right in a public school to make an appointment and go in and observe the teacher and see for yourself what their teaching is like.
Re: Selecting a teacher for next year
Well, I talked with the teacher and she thought that I should request certain teacher characteristics for my dd for next year. These are the things that she thought that I should request: Stucture, soft-spoken teacher, opportunity for a challenge in the areas that she is advanced in, and, not to be exposed to an overload of kids with behavioral issues.
So, if you have a great teacher this year, it might pay to ask her advice!
Terry
I don’t. And I have never been in a school where you have been able to specifically request a teacher. But I long ago learned to play the game—these are the qualities my child needs. Now I have three kids in school—and it is only the middle one who I make a point of talking to the principal about. My other two really can succeed with a variety of styles. Again, I can only request qualities—for him it is a structured organized teacher who is flexible—he needs certain accomodations to be successful. But I couldn’t be happier this year (or last in a different school) with the teachers this approach has brought us.
But I would never leave these things to the luck of the draw if you have a high needs kid, especially in a school where the administration responds generally to parent requests.
Beth