OT- I think I alread know what most of you are going to say...

[MrsPete]

One of the biggest regrets I have in parenting is that in 4th grade my daughter had a teacher who, in the first few weeks, proved herself to be incompotent and downright mean. But it took several weeks to figure this out, and by then my daughter was already in the class, had made friends . . . so I said and did nothing. By the end of the year I had such a list of awful things that had happened, and the teacher had picked my girl as one of the "bad kids". It took a good two years to "undo" the havoc that teacher accomplished. In retrospect, difficult as it would've been, I should've demanded a mid-year change. The teacher was fired not long after.

We encountered a similar problem in 7th grade with my other daughter, and we didn't hesitate -- we do learn from our mistakes. My husband and I made an appointment with the assistant principal, went in together and laid our concerns out on the table. Although the assistant principal was openly angry with us -- and told us so -- but we remained insistant that our child would be placed where we wanted her to be placed. Now, with that year far behind us, I can assure you it was the right choice. I did cry a little on the way home because the principal had been so mean to us, but I was stone-faced and professional in the office.

My advice: I wouldn't worry about the two new teachers, though I do wonder why the school chose to put them together on the same team rather than spreading their inexperience over the two teams. "New" will have its share of problems, but everyone has to be new at some point, and new often turns out to be very good. But "known-not-to-be-so-good" is questionable. You're justified in asking for a move.

 

[MrsPete]

For the OP, I think that "I'd really like my child to have a teacher that understands/loves math and will let my child stretch" is a perfectly reasonable request (independent of last year's teacher), but the best time to make that request is usually at the end of the prior year. Shuffling after class lists are announced is much harder.

After my youngest daughter had the horrible 4th grade teacher (discussed in the post just above), I did something like this. We were changing schools anyway, so I knew no one . . . and I wrote a letter well in advance to the principal and the guidance counselor, explaining my daughter's 4th grade experience, her personality traits, her academic strengths and weaknesses.

The 5th grade teacher to whom she was assigned was an absolute angel. Years of experience. Kind, yet also strict. Fun, yet never skimped on the content. My daughter adored her, and she really did begin to undo the knots of trouble that the nasty 4th grade teacher had tied.

Sadly, my poor youngest daughter can never catch a break at school. That wonderful teacher became gravely ill with cancer and missed a great deal of school towards the end. She died the next year. What a loss.

More to the point: Writing a letter ahead of time about your child's specific needs /strengths /weaknesses is a great plan. It absolutely helped my child.

 

[sk!mom]

I would make the request. With our first child, DS27, we also believed that it might be better to not make waves so when he had a terrible second grade teacher we stuck it out. By mid year, we had a conference with the teacher and principal and let the principal connvince us that things would be better and it was best not to disrupt DS. In retrospect, very bad decision.

By the time DD16 came along, I was a teacher and understood that contrary to what the school would have you think, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Parents who have the reputation for being positivly involved tend to get assigned the best teachers and if you have a strong opinion, insist on a change. DH had to insist last year- DD's sophomore year. She immediatly had a very bad fit with one teacher and DH refused to accept the school's position that she had to stick it out for one grading period. She attends a large school and he had to go all the way to the head principal to get the change made. It actually turned out great, her class assignment was changed immediatly, and he developed a great relationship with the principal.

We never hesitated to make requests or bring problems up. Just keep it positive and respectful. We did this and had /have great relationships with DD's schools.

 

[Green Tea]

I would not. Looking back on all of my kid's experiences, some of the teachers who I heard the most negativity about turned out to be their best. If it is a school where the principal knows your child, and it sounds like knows you and your expectations, my guess is he already placed in your child in the place he thinks is the best fit for success.