Parents' Homework: Find Perfect Teachers for KidsTomi Hall did what she could to lobby for

Parents' Homework: Find Perfect Teachers for Kids

Tomi Hall did what she could to lobby for the best teachers for her two children, making her case this spring in letters to the principal. Then all she could do was waiting for news of their classroom assignments and it's been torturing. The Aurora mom knows her efforts carry no guarantees. One year her son didn't get the teacher Hall had hoped for, and he struggled for months with one whose relaxed style. came across to him as uncaring. "Granted, I know it's just kindergarten," said Hall, 39. "But ... a teacher can make or break you.

In the next few weeks, many families will rip open notification letters or go to school to see class lists posted on the front door. For parents accustomed to directing nearly every aspect of their child's early learning it can be difficult to have little voice in teacher selection--a decision they view as critical. Some spend hours crafting the perfect letter or meet with the principal to make an argument. For their child's early learning, parents regard that teacher is critical.

Principals, meanwhile, struggle to create balanced classrooms while juggling (更改) individual requests. They say they want input but find it increasingly necessary to discourage parents from asking for a specific teacher. Administrators don't want the selection process to be a popularity contest--in part because what makes a teacher popular may have nothing to do with a particular child's educational needs.

"I'm bright enough to realize parents talk at soccer fields and baseball fields, but you have to realize your experience with Teacher A may be very different than someone else's Teacher A," said Scott Meek, the new principal at Northbrook Junior High School who is making classroom assignments this summer for 600 students with the help of an office display board. He asks parents to focus their input on the student and his or her learning style. and trust the school to make the right match.

Some students also believe that certain teachers bring out the best in them. "I need one of those strict kinds of teachers," said Hall's daughter Tori, 12, who is entering 7th grade. "When I get a not-so-strict teacher, I think they don't really care about me. I really don't want a bad teacher. I'll get lower grades."

When Chaya Fish, 30, of West Rogers Park taught at a private school in New York, she said, it was obvious who the "in, teachers were. She said she automatically joined them after the principal's son landed in her classroom. "It was ridiculous," said Fish. "The other teacher was probably better than me. It was how you dressed, how you talked" that often determined parental favor.

Teachers said the most vocal parents often get their way so that all parties involved can avoid a difficult school year. But educators warn that parents who get what they wish for may be sorry afterward. "A lot of times when people orchestrate (精心安排) who they think their child is best suited for, they find they made a mistake," said Mark Friedman, superintendent for Libertyville Elementary School District 70. "I have many parents say later, 'I don't know why I did this. It isn't working out this year.'" Friedman said he assures parents their comments will be considered but never guarantees a specific teacher. In fact, he tells them that if they do request a teacher and later regret that choice, "you have no one to blame but yourself."

Some parents said they've learned their lesson about trying to guess which teacher would be best. Jamie Thompson said she was initially concerned when her daughter was assigned to a strict lst-grade teacher. She was aware other parents had lobbied for a different person, who had a more casual style. "At the end, it turned out that the other class was asking, ' Why isn't my child learning that？' "said Thompson, 36, of Arlington Heights. "That's why

A．they are used to directing nearly all aspects of their child

B．they are used to spending hours crafting the perfect letter

C．they consider their decision is critical

D．they consider the teacher is critical