School Question - What Would You Do?

There a social and academic advantages with mix grade/age classrooms. If you are comfortable with the teacher then you should go that route.

Dawn is right, you can ask, but I wouldn't, the school administrator will probably not pay attention to you, but more than that, you may also damage your reputation at the school. My experience is that teachers and administrators spend a great deal of time putting class lists together, finding things that work for the kids, and for the mix of children together. They just can't cater to each and every request, and you may find that they will not take requests at all to be fair. The truth is, all the teachers your child gets will not be gems. That is a fact of life, and you are not alone in wanting the best, everyone does, but you need to realize that what is best for your child, may not be what is best for another either. I have noticed over the years that many parents report vastly diffferent ideas about which teachers are "good." Some, who I would rather have never met my child, are terrific for another kid. That is how it goes. Your child will be fine, all other things being equal, as long as she has that potential to learn, she will.

Good gifted programs do not start until 4th grade or later, so put that idea out of your mind. Enrich her at home if you find yourself thinking that she needs more than she is getting, but save your teacher request opportunity for a time when you may really, really need it for a better reason than this. You do not even really know if you have an issue yet, and my guess is, you don't.

M.

Do not worry about a split K-1 room. Children learn so much better in multi grade classrooms! Finland scored the highest in scholastics recently and that is what they do. The older ones are reviewing what they learned before and the younger ones are previewing what they'll learn next year. Its a great system. Our denominations church schools function this way and our kids score higher compared to public schools (this crosses ethnic and socioeconomic lines)!

Best wishes!

If you are staying at that school, just be prepared to supplement your daughters education at home- you don't have to do worksheets or anything- make it fun. Go to the library and check out some fun books to read together- talk about the books at dinner time and look for ways to really implement what she has learned through out the day(ie: a book on wild flowers- what wild flowers are near your house, get some flower seeds and plant them with her, what insects/birds are attracted to them- can you collect the seeds when the flowers die? etc.)
My son had a wonderful 1st grade teacher who really pushed the class to excel- he did great and loved going to school. His 2nd grade teacher was nice, but didn't push the class at all- in fact, the work he was doing at the end of the year in 2nd was easier than the work that they did in 1st at the beginning of the year. I had several talks with the teacher because I didn't want my son to be bored and then not try in school anymore. His dad taught him harder math(multiplication and 3 digit adding) which he practiced at school after his school work was done. We always made sure he had a book to read and we bought a crossword puzzle book for him. At home we would study other thing and do science experiments.
We got through the school year that way and we have both learned that sometimes we don't get ideal situations, but we learned how to handle it the best we could. ( they had a no request policy and wouldn't let him switch classes or move up a grade at this school)
Good luck!
~C.

Well, not all schools will accommodate parental teacher requests. Because if they do, then they have to do that for ALL parents... and then what?

Also, you can also give your daughter, additional learning, at home.

Then again, for each grade level, there will always be Teachers, that don't suit us or the child.

Or you switch to another school.

Each school, has different targeted goals, per grade level, and different 'benchmarks' per grade level.
So, maybe your friends' daughter, being at another school.... simply has different academic targets and curriculum. Which is probably the case.
Naturally, the other school will 'blame' the Teacher she previously had.... and the previous school. Because, they probably just pride themselves on what THEY teach their kids. It is typical human reaction.....

Also, 2nd grade is very different than 1st grade. The expectations on the student... are more complex. Then in 3rd grade, it is another jump... in complexity of the work.

all the best,
Susan

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Most schools don't allow you to choose your teachers. If you have some say, I'd make your preferences known especially about the one you don't want. You can always enrich your daughter's educational experience yourself by finding out what is expected of her entering 2nd grade and being sure she gets that from you if she isn't getting it at school. You can offer to help in the classroom if you're free during the day at all. My granddaughter has been in split classrooms and it works better than you'd think it would most of the time.

I would make an attempt to get the teacher that I wanted if that makes you more comfortable. However, it maybe that you don't have a say. I know alot of parents who go by word of mouth when selecting a teacher or school. That is the only way you can get some idea of what is good or not. I think everyone has a different opinion regarding who is a good teacher and who is not. I think that there are alot of teachers (whom another parent thinks is not good) that can contribute something to accomodate each child's different learning style because not everyone learns in the same way. You have to say does this teachers style fit my child's way of learning.
But, I would go further than word of mouth and try to see for myself what the deal is with the teacher. You might be suprised to find out she is a good fit for your child. Just to say keep an open mind not all teachers are one size fits all.
You mentioned a child that had fallen behind. I think its so easy to blame the teacher. It should have been evident to the parent that the child was not where she needed to be long before the school year ended or this child would not have been behind. I believe that it's a parents job know what a child is learning. So to answer your questions about putting too much thought into your child's education the answer is no. You sound like a great parent so I'm sure you will make sure that your child is learning at the appropriate levels and not just leave it up to the teacher.
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I'd request her not to be in the teacher you don't like's class and be forewarned that the other teacher might not push her as hard as you might like. There's a balance between pushing a kid faster than she can learn and keeping them engaged, etc. If your elementary school has a gifted program, investigate it and see if your child might qualify. I would also look for ways to enrich her learning. Just because other kids are reading on level doesn't mean yours will and you can introduce her to other books.

Sometimes schools teach for promotion within that school so when the child transfers, there's a bit of juggling to do. My sister started out in one elementary school and moved to another, in the same district. My mom worked her through the reading books at home to bring her up to par with her new class.

I'd also talk to other parents. It may be that for that parent and that child the teacher wasn't a good fit, but someone else may feel differently.

You can make a request, in writing... but don't plan on it being honored. Also, you can probably supplement her learning at home if you feel it is not up to par.

Why did the other mom take her child out of the school? Perhaps she had other issues and is just disgruntled? Ask other parents!

I pulled my son out of school and now I homeschool him. Not always an option for everyone though and it really depends on how terrible the teacher is or how disrespectful she/he is towards the parents and children.
I do not regret my decision at all.

Most schools will honor a request to not have a specific teacher but not a request to either not have all but one or to have a specific teacher. In other words, you can probably state NOT teacher number 1 (meaning #2 or 3 is ok) but they most likely would not honor a request specifically for teacher #3 (or a request that was NOT teacher numbers 1 or 2).

Since this is where your child has been since preschool, is it a private school? Have you considered a different one or your public school?

Combo classes are great but it's usually the self starter, more independent kids that are picked for that class. Go ahead and make a request. You know your child best.