DC had a bad fit with his teacher last year (the only time in six years of ES that we've had a problem). The teacher was extremely disorganized and didn't communicate well with parents, and DC is also disorganized and forgetful. In our case, the ES has only one AAP class in DC's grade, so there was nowhere to move him.

FWIW, I took away a couple things from the experience of a bad teacher-child combo. One was to try to work with the teacher and express concerns with her before going over her head. When things didn't improve, then DH and I met with the principal and the teacher, to express concrete concerns and develop an informal plan (for example we bought extra copies of workbooks, so we could keep one copy at home and one at school, and she was supposed to send out an email every two weeks listing important dates, tests, projects, etc.) As the year progressed and things still didn't improve, DH and I started cc'ing the administration when we e-mailed the teacher about significant issues/problems.

We had a frustrating year, but DC survived with no permanent damage done. And I feel like DH and I now have some credibility with the school administration because we really tried to work with this teacher-- some of DC's classmates parents went to the principal and demanded hat the teacher be fired as their first resort. Since there are 2 AAP classes for DC#2's grade, I feel like i can legitimately request the other teacher for DD. IN your case, if you make a real, good faith effort to work with this teacher, and try to make the administration see you want to be part of the solution, the administration will probably be more willing to listen to your concerns and take placement requests more seriously for your DC and any siblings down the line.

Good Luck.

DC had a bad fit with his teacher last year (the only time

Anonymous wrote:PP, id be curious if you still feel that way if your kid does get a damaging teacher. My kid had a mean teacher that two years later, he still has not recovered from

PP here. Yes, I'd still feel that way AT THE BEGINNING OF SCHOOL. Now, if after a few weeks/month, it was clear that my child had a horrible teacher, who was "damaging" or otherwise not teaching in a satisfactory manner, I'd definitely speak up and advocate for my child.

But that is a completely different scenario than getting your child moved from a class before school has even begun based on rumors.

Strict is not a bad word. It means that a teacher has clear expectations and they are enforced. I think a kid with ADD or other sorts of issues would do better with this type of teacher. Strict does not mean they are not loving.

I just heard that my son has a strict teacher this year. I am very happy. I know my child and this is the type of teacher he needs. I do not want him with a teacher that lets things go and is permissive. Like some posters above said, they might not appreciate those teachers now but will in the future. Learning goes on in those classrooms.