Instead, parents are asked to describe their child’s personality, needs, and learning style as well as what type of teacher and classroom structure would suit him well. In fact, some schools have developed questionnaires for parents to fill out for this purpose. Be sure to make it clear that you are aware of the teacher request policy and that your request falls within (or why it falls outside of) those guidelines. Identify your child, their grade, and the current teacher before describing what type of educational experience would help his academic success and, if allowed, the teacher you think would be best for him. When using word-of-mouth as a recommendation, many parents fail to take into account that not all children learn the same way and not all personalities work well together. Is she hands-on or does she do a lot of paperwork activities? What type of discipline or behavior plan does she use in her classroom? How well do her students perform academically in comparison to other classes? What type of training does she have working with children with certain types of disabilities? Does she teach boys and girls differently? You have the right to be involved in placement for your child, meaning that you can help determine the best type of classroom and program for him, but that’s not the same as choosing a teacher. Many times a teacher has a stellar reputation as to how she works with children with learning disabilities or other types of students and a number of parents request her classroom. If all of those children are placed in the same classroom, the teacher will be overloaded, so an administrator may choose to redistribute the student population more evenly.
