According to The Chicago Tribune, school administrators are asking parents to trust their children’s school when it comes to creating class lists. It’s not uncommon for parents to make phone calls, write letters, and schedule meetings in hopes of persuading administrators to place their child in a specific classroom. Some Chicago school officials, however, are discouraging parents from making such requests, emphasizing it’s not a popularity contest.
“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 from someone else’s [experience with] Teacher A,” Northbrook Junior High School principal Scott Meeks said.
Parents who try to guess which teacher is “best” often find themselves regretting their decision, Mark Friedman, Libertyville Elementary School District 7 superintendent, said.
Not all parents are buying this. After watching her son struggle with a laid-back teacher for a year, parent Tomi Hall now sees the merit in making teacher requests, even for kindergarten. “A teacher can make or break you,” she said.
Parent Denita Ricci disagrees. “I think [children] need to learn to deal with people who are different than them, just like an employer.”