Writing Feature Articles - Step 1 - Lesson 1 | Page 72

Writing Feature Articles - Lesson
Writing Feature Articles - Handout . a

Intermediate

Name: ________________________________________ Date: ___________________

. a: Feature Articles Packet

(page of

)

Picking teachers: Should parents weigh in?
Some say to let kids learn to cope, others believe Mom and Dad know best
The Associated Press
Updated 10:22 a.m. ET, Mon., Aug 10, 2009

Sheila Carter, principal at William Hatch
Elementary School in Oak Park, Ill.,
welcomes parental input in creating
diverse classrooms, but not everyone
agrees.

After doing some research, including sitting in on classrooms, Valerie Gilbert thought she knew which
third-grade teacher would be perfect for her son, Stanley.
Impressed by that teacher's creative, visually stimulating style, the Berkeley, Calif., mother lobbied on
Stanley's behalf. "I did my best to make my opinion known," Gilbert said.
The school, however, placed Stanley in a different class. And to his mother's surprise and delight, the
year wound up being so successful for him that Gilbert said she is approaching his pending entry into
fourth grade in a new way: by vowing to stay out of the process.
"I'm learning to be more open-minded," she said.
‘Parents should worry less’
With parents becoming increasingly involved in their children's lives and educations, Gilbert's foray
into her son's classroom placement process is not unique, particularly around this time of year when
anxieties about the coming school year run high.
Whether such parental input into teacher selection is good for children is open to question.

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