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Frequently Asked Questionsabout Reading |
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Reading Room HomeParents
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You have a child you love, right? You’d do anything for him – feed him the most nutritious food, live in the best neighborhood you can afford, send him to the best possible school. You’d probably give your life for him. So it should follow naturally that since you strive to give him all the advantages in life, you would also want to request that your son be placed in the class of the best teacher. Think about it for a minute. Exactly who is the best teacher? Is it the teacher who, by reputation, provides the most fun in class? The teacher with the most education? Or perhaps the teacher who is most able to articulate her program to the parents? How well do you really understand the options? Sometimes a teacher who does not have the reputation as the "best" teacher turns out to be the best teacher for a certain child at a certain time. For example, your child may be exceedingly gifted intellectually but somewhat immature socially and emotionally. Would the best teacher for your child be one who pushes her students in the intellectual realm, or one who is more interested in the social and emotional development of her students? Which teacher would have the most long-lasting impact on your child? It is often not possible to predict. We all cringe at the possibility of our child having a "bad" teacher. Did you consider the learning opportunity that might be possible from helping your child adjust to a difficult teacher and having a successful year? By learning to cope with a difficult situation and making the adjustments necessary to be successful, he has learned an important lesson in life: there are people out there whose thinking styles are different from yours; there are even “jerks” out there in the world with whom you will have to interact at some point; and the responsibility rests with you to make the accommodations necessary to cope. What could be a better lesson to learn? Now consider the perspective of the classroom dynamic. Every year the teachers in many schools spend an inordinate amount of time dividing their present classes into next year’s classes, trying to form the classes as best as they can. They consider factors of gender, race, academic needs, social needs, personalities of the students and even personalities of the teacher. While every mix of students has its own dynamic, every effort has been made to make the classes as balanced as possible. Let’s suppose one teacher, we’ll call her Mrs. Sweet, is known as the nurturer, warm and fuzzy. Another teacher, Mrs. Stern, is known as the disciplinarian, making the students tow the line, and demanding that they stretch themselves academically. Now suppose that several parents of high-maintenance children request Mrs. Sweet because they feel their children need to be handled with kid gloves. In each case, a logical and reasonable request. The administration, in trying to respond to the needs of its parent body, acquiesces to the parents, and the balance is lost. Mrs. Sweet has a class of emotionally needy but not academically gifted students; Mrs. Stern has the academically gifted students who do not need special handling. Which came first – the reputation of the teacher or the needs of the class? Has the educational environment been compromised? Think about your role as parent, and ask yourself whether your job is to make a perfect “world” for your child, or to help your child learn to cope in a world that isn’t always so perfect? Do you really know how your own child will react with any given teacher, considering the fact that each class has its own dynamic and each child is unique within that setting? Do you want your child to be in a balanced class, or one that is overloaded in one way or another? The biggest gift you can give to that child you love is to allow him to learn some important lessons in life. As Garrison Keillor says, “Life’s not fair. Make the best of it.” Answers to the FAQs about Reading have been prepared by Dozie Herbruck, former Learning Specialist at University School. |
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Should I request a certain teacher for my child?