The biggest issue when class lists are being formed for the following school year is probably this: Who makes up the lists? Who is it that determines the make up of each class? Who determines who will be in the same class as your child and who will be his/her teacher?
Many school districts accept parent requests, sometimes because it’s a tradition, and sometimes because it’s seen as a way of including parents in the big decisions regarding their child’s education. It’s hard to argue with these reasons because most educators support having their student’s parents involved. The question then, is whether a parent request is absolute, or if there are any shared guidelines for parents in the role they play in determining their child’s teacher.
In many schools, often smaller communities in my experience, parents have a clearly defined role in choosing their child’s teacher for the following school year. Mom or Dad may send a note to the principal, have a hallway conversation with their child’s present teacher, or have some other school employee pass along their wishes. Sometimes, a parent’s “wishes” are really expressed as an expectation or even a demand. Do parents have this right? If so, will this lead to more support from parents during the school year?
Tales From My Classroom
I was an administrator in a district that had a long tradition of accepting parent requests. One problem was with a teacher named Mr. H. Almost every parent wanted their child to have him as their teacher so almost everyone requested him!
The opposite of Mr. H was Mrs. T. She had developed a bad reputation in the community and, not only did she get few requests from parents, but parents specifically stated that they did not want their child in Mrs. T’s class.
There was a parent who had a long history of nasty comments and notes bashing teachers. Mrs. W. loved the word “sucks” in describing her kid’s teachers each year. She would stop in to see me often and we developed a good relationship. When I described this process to her, and explained how “some parents” just liked to be nasty and insulting and I would ignore those requests, she ended up writing the 1st courteous letter regarding teachers she had ever written. Not one “sucks”!
I was an intern in charge of class lists in a district where parent requests were not accepted. A teacher approached me about her own child, wanting her son placed with a certain teacher. After the principal reiterated that requests weren’t allowed, I explained this to the teacher but she persisted and then went to the principal, who then explained to me that we had to “take care of our own”.
Should parents be allowed to choose their child’s teacher? If so, what limits or guidelines should be established for parents in this process?
If not, what reasons would justify not allowing this?
Classroom Tales and Lessons Learned 