This is the week in our area that elementary public school kids learn who their teachers will be. In the past class lists were also posted, but new laws prevent that so the internet was buzzing with texts and emails as families tried to puzzle together who was in which class. Many are happy, but for some this announcement comes a disappointment, either because of the teacher or the classmates. Which side are you on? If you are unhappy with your teacher assignment, will you contact the school and try to get it changed? What is the point at which you think contacting the school is called for?

School starts in 5 days in our area and class lists/teacher assignments have yet to be announced. It's an issue of budget constraints/staffing issues in the community. Regardless, if our son ends up in a class that doesn't include his closest friends from last year, we wouldn't request a class reassignment for that. That's all part of growing up.

I doubt we'd request a class reassignment based on teacher assignment right out of the gate either. Seems to me, it's important to give our child and the teacher some time to get to know each other and establish a relationship.

Having said that, our son is in a public Montessori school so he'll have his next teacher for 3 years! If my wife and I get a sense over say the first quarter that the teacher is not right for our son and his educational development, then we'll certainly talk to the school to find out what's necessary to get him reassigned at a convenient point in time in the future. In my mind, it comes down to, "is the teacher/student relationship detrimental to the child's academic development?" If so, then as parents we have a responsibility to try and change that situation.