(A)Tomi Hall did what she could to lobby for the best teachers for her two children, making her case this spring in letters to the principal.Then all she could do was waiting for news of their classroom assignments-and it's been torturing.The Aurora mom knows her efforts carry no guarantees.One year ago her son didn't get the teacher Hall had hoped for, and he struggled for months with one whose relaxed style came across to him as uncaring.“Granted, I know it's just kindergarten,” said Hall, 39.“But ...a teacher can make or break you.”
(B)In the next few weeks, many families will rip open notification letters or go to school to see class-lists posted on the front door.For parents accustomed to directing nearly every aspect of their child's early learning it can be difficult to have little voice in teacher selection—a decision they view as critical.Some spend hours crafting the perfect letter or meet with the principal to make an argument.For their child's early learning, parents regard that teacher is critical.
(C)Principals, meanwhile, struggle to create balanced classrooms while juggling (同时应付)individual requests.They say they want input but find it increasingly necessary to discourage parents from asking for a specific teacher.Administrators don't want the selection process to be a popularity contest—in part because what makes a teacher popular may have nothing to do with a particular child's educational needs.
(D)“I'm bright enough to realize parents' talk at soccer fields and baseball fields, but you have to realize your experience with Teacher A may be very different than someone else's Teacher A,”said Scott Meek, the new principal at Northbrook Junior High School who is making classroom assignments this summer for 600 students with the help of an office display board.He asks parents to focus their input on the student and his or her learning style and trust the school to make the right match.
(E)Some students also recognize that certain teachers bring out the best in them.“I need one of those strict kinds of teachers,” said Hall's daughter Tori, 12, who is entering 7th grade.“When I get a not-so-strict teacher, I think they don't really care about me.I really don't want a bad teacher.I'll get lower grades.”
(F)When Chaya Fish, 30, of West Rogers Park taught at a private school in New York, she said, it was obvious who the “in” teachers were.She said she automatically joined them after the principal's son landed in her classroom.“It was ridiculous,” said Fish.“The other teacher was probably better than me.It was how you dressed, how you talked that of ten determined parental favor.”
(G)Teachers said the most vocal parents often get their way so that all parties involved can avoid a difficult school year.But educators warn that parents who get what they wish for may be sorry afterward.“A lot of times when people orchestrate(精心安排)who they think their child is best suited for,they find they made a mistake,” said Mark Friedman, superintendent(督学） for Libertyville Elementary School District 70.“I have many parents say later, 'I don't know why I did this.It isn't working out this year.” Friedman said he assures parents their comments will be consid-ered but never guarantees a specific teacher.In fact, he tells them that if they do request a teacher and later regret that choice, “you have no one to blame but yourself.”
(H)Some parents said they've learned their lesson about trying to guess which teacher would be best.Jamie Thompson said she was initially concerned when her daughter was assigned to a strict lst-grade teacher.She was aware other parents had lobbied for a different person, who had a more casual style.“At the end, it turned out that the other class was asking,'Why isn't my child learning that? ” said Thompson, 36, of Arlington Heights.“That's why I don't want to interfere too much.”
(I)Yet parents have different reasons for requesting classes, and some have nothing to do with the teacher, said Michelle Van Every, 36, of Deerfield.She and other mothers once requested that their children not be placed in a classroom with a specific boy—not because of him, but to avoid his mother, who had created problems in the past, she said.“We didn't want to cross paths with her,” said Van Every, who added that the school complied with their request.”We didn't want to have to volunteer with her at a class party.”
(J)Each district follows its own procedure for teacher selection.Some begin as early as April or May, officials said.Many ask parents to complete a form about their child's strengths and weaknesses.Typically, teachers have some say in the process by deciding early on which students should be separated or kept together, on the basis of academics, personalities and learning styles.The principal draws up the final class lists, often after meeting with parents or reviewing special requests, officials said.
(K)Many school districts wait until the last minute to announce class assignments, usually about two weeks before the start-up of school.That's because they have come to expect a flood of phone calls within hours from parents who beg or demand to switch teachers.
(L)Other schools handle it differently.At Sawyer Elementary School on Chicago's Southwest Side,the fall class assignments are handed out with the last report card the previous spring, said teacher Maureen “Moe” Forte.Forte said she is aware of colleagues and members of the Local School Council who have asked that their children be moved from one class into another.“It's not fair,” Forte said.“l was very upset that one of the LSC parents moved her daughter to my classroom.The parent just felt my personality fit better with her child.And it's not a personality contest.”
(M)Denita Ricci of Lake Villa said she knows parents who request certain classes but try to stay out of the process.Her son, Mason Wubs, 12, hopes to be placed in the same class as his best friend,easing the transition to 7th grade at a new school.“I trust the school's judgment,” she said,though she secretly hopes Mason will share a class with his friend.“I think they need to learn to deal with people who are different from them,just like an employer.”
Mark Friedman said, in most cases people will make mistakes in choosing teacher and class for their children.无参考译文
家长的作业：为孩子寻找完美的老师
A)汤米·霍尔竭尽全力为她的两个孩子去游说最好的老师，在今年春天写给校长的信中说明她的情况。之后，她唯一能做的就是等待班级分配，这个过程很折磨人。曙光女神知道她的努力得不到保证。一年前，儿子没有进入霍尔所希望的老师的班级。霍尔的儿子好几个月都在挣扎，老师轻快的（讲课）风格让他认为是漠不关心。39岁的霍尔说：“当然，我知道这只是幼儿园，但是……老师可以成就也可以毁掉一个人。”
B)在接下来的几周，许多家庭会拆开通知信或去学校看贴在前门的分班公告。对于那些习惯于面面俱到地指导孩子早期学习的父母，很难让他们在选择老师时保持沉默——他们认为这是一个重要的决定。为坚持自己的想法，一些家长花几个小时起草完美的信件或找校长。家长认为老师在孩子的早期教育中至关重要。
C)与此同时，校长们除了努力平衡分班，还要处理一些个别请求。他们说想要孩子有所收获，但是发现越来越有必要阻止父母要求特定的老师。管理者不希望选择过程成为人气竞赛——在某种程度上，一个老师的受欢迎程度可能与孩子的教育需求毫不相干。
D)诺斯布鲁克初中的新校长斯科特·米克说：“我懂得家长在足球场和棒球场的谈话，但是你必须意识到不同的人从老师A那里学到的东西是不一样的。”他现在正在办公室用电脑为今年夏季的600名学生分班。他要求家长们关注学生在学习上的收获以及学习习惯，并相信学校会做出正确的分配。
E)一些学生也认识到某些教师能帮助他们成为最好的自己。霍尔的女儿多莉即将升入七年级，她说：“我需要一个严格的老师，如果遇到不怎么严厉的老师，我会认为他们并不是真的在乎我。我真的不想要一个糟糕的老师，那样我会得到更低的分数。”
F)西罗杰斯公园30岁的查雅·费什曾在纽约一所私立学校任教。她说谁是受欢迎的老师非常明显。她说自从校长的儿子成为她班上的学生之后，她自动地加入了受欢迎老师的阵营。她说：“这真的很荒谬。其他老师可能比我更优秀。通常，一个人的穿着与谈吐会决定家长们的态度。”
G)老师说，最直言不讳的父母经常随心所欲，以避免整个学年各方都不好过。但是教育工作者警告说，得偿所愿的父母以后也许会后悔。利伯蒂维尔区70小学的督学马克·弗里德曼说：“很多时候家长们精心安排他们认为最适合孩子的老师，之后发现他们犯了错误。我们这里有很多家长后来会说，‘我不知道当初为什么这样做，今年根本没用，。”弗里德曼说，他向家长们保证会考虑他们的意见，但绝不会保证安排特定的老师。事实上，他告诉他们，如果确实要求了某个老师之后又后悔，“到时候只能怪自己”。
H)一些家长说他们已经从猜测谁会是最好的老师中得到了教训。杰米·汤普森说她女儿被分配给一个一年级的严格老师时，她最初很担心。她知道其他家长已经为换一个比较随性的老师进行了游说。来自阿灵顿高地36岁的汤普森说：“最后，事实证明另一个班的家长会问‘为什么我的孩子没有学那个呢？”“‘这就是为什么我不想干涉太多的原因。”
I)来自迪尔菲尔德36岁的米歇尔·凡·艾弗利说，尽管家长们出于不同的原因对班级提出要求，但一些家长对班级的要求跟老师无关。她和其他母亲曾要求他们的孩子不能和某一男孩分在一起，原因并不是因为这个男孩.而是为了避开男孩的母亲，她过去制造了许多问题。她说：“我们不想碰到男孩的妈妈。”并补充说学校听从了她们的要求。“我们不想在班级聚会上和她一起参加志愿活动。”
J)每个地区遵循特有的程序选择老师。官员说，有些地区早在四月或五月就开始筛选。许多地区要求家长们填表说明孩子的优缺点。通常，在这个过程中老师有权在早期决定哪些学生应该分开或待在一起，这会根据学生的学习基础、性格以及学习方式而定。校长常常会与家长开会或审查特别请求之后，草拟最后的班级列表。
K)许多学区等到最后一刻才宣布班级分配，通常在开学两个星期前。因为他们担心数小时内连续不断地接到家长的请求或要求换老师的电话。
L)其他学校的处理方式有所不同。芝加哥西南侧的索耶小学的莫琳·莫伊·福尔特老师说，秋季班级分配会与前一年春天的最后成绩单一起发放。福尔特说她知道同事们和当地学校委员会成员要求给他们的孩子调班。她说：“这不公平。我非常担心一个当地学校委员会(LSC)的家长将女儿转到我的班级。那个家长只是认为我的性格与她的孩子更合得来。但是，这不是一个性格比赛。”
M)Lake Villa的德妮坦·里奇说，她了解那些要求特定班级却试图不参与此过程的家长们。她12岁的儿子梅森·伍布斯希望和他最好的朋友分到同一班，来缓解升入7年级转到新学校的不适。她说：“我相信学校的判断。”尽管她私下希望梅森会和他的朋友分在一个班。“我认为他们需要学会与不同的人相处，就像老板一样。”