Parent - Teacher - Student Relationships

Sue Shellenbarger:

The large majority of teachers, of course, are well-qualified and dedicated. Parents should weigh a child's complaints carefully: Is the problem really a bad teacher, or a misdirected kid? "Many times the parent only gets the child's side of the story," says John Mitchell, deputy director of the American Federation of Teachers union.

The rumor mill can be misleading. Matt Sabella of Armonk, N.Y., was warned by other elementary-school parents that his daughter's teacher was "so-so." He found the opposite to be true. The teacher "helped my daughter become a whiz in math," Mr. Sabella says. Also, if you rescue a child too quickly, you risk producing what some administrators call "teacups" -- carefully crafted but fragile kids who lack resiliency, says Patrick Bassett of the National Association of Independent Schools, Washington, D.C.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at September 29, 2005 8:39 AM
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