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Sound It Out
Along with her background as a researcher, writer, and teacher, Joanne Meier is a mom. Join Joanne every week as she shares her experiences raising her own young readers, and guides parents and teachers on the best practices in reading.
What is the parents' role in teacher assignment?
"What teacher do you want this year?"
That’s the question heard over and over again in my neighborhood. Moms asking Moms, Moms asking kids, and even kids asking kids: Who do you hope you get this year?
At the core of parent requests, of course, are parent hopes that their child spends the year with a teacher who helps their child thrive cognitively, emotionally, and socially. Parents whose kids have spent a year in a less than optimal environment can tell you that a school year can be a VERY long time when the teacher-child match was bad.
But do parents always know best when requesting a teacher? Maybe not always.
Personally, our principal is amenable to parent requests, with one caveat: no specific teacher names tied to requests. Parents can write letters that describe what they feel is the right setting for their child – a more loosely structured classroom or one that’s more tightly run, a teacher with a particular passion (science, math, writing) or one with a higher or lower tolerance for noise, etc. The principal and teachers take these requests into consideration, and then they work out what they believe to be the correct placement for every child. I think a lot of principals use similar logic: seek parental input, and moderate that with input from school teachers and staff and the logistics of the grade level.
There’s no question that the way teachers and students interact impacts learning, and that parents need to consider their child’s unique educational needs. How do teachers help children feel comfortable in the classroom? How do teachers help children develop skills to get the most out of school each day? How to teachers support students through concept development, feedback and modeling? Recent research on teacher-child interactions suggests that several dimensions of teaching are directly linked to student achievement and social development, and that these interaction effects occur for children as young as preschool.
What do you think? What is the parents’ role in teacher assignment?
I worked in a school where the principal used to share parent requests with the staff...it demoralized many teachers who were not the "top choices."
My kids are grown, but there was only one time that I requested a teacher...I asked my principal for a teacher who loved kids and was compassionate. My daughter had been put in classes that were highly structured for 2 years in a row and had come to hate school. The match made that year was just what my daughter needed.
Thanks for the interesting post.
Posted by: Jen | August 18, 2009 08:03 PMParents of students that a on "grade level" should let the school choose the students teacher. We've always done this and have been pleased. My son was dreading his 4th grade teacher and she turned out to be the best thing for him!!! Now, if you have a child with challenges, that may be a different story....
Posted by: Jill | August 20, 2009 09:13 AMI absolutely disagree. If you have identified the teacher that is best suited for your child, as a parent, the principal should honor that request. We are ultimately the final decision-makers in the education of our children. The school will never be as invested in your child's education as much as a parent. Ever.
Posted by: Marie | September 12, 2009 01:26 AM
Comments
I choose 2 teachers (because I have to) and then fill out a comments section with a description of my kid and what I think she needs in a teacher. I hope that helps them make the best placement.
Posted by: KC in Lubbock | August 07, 2009 01:12 PM