Parent v. Teacher

Parents and teachers share something in common: They both want what is best for the student. What do you do, though, when the parent and teacher completely disagree on what is best for the child?

I have come across a case like this in one of my classes. One student, we'll call him Charlie, is consistently on the verge of failing. He often is distracted by his phone, other students, or is content to simply sit and do nothing rather than work on the task at hand. He rarely comes prepared for class. He is a nice kid, and he is intelligent, too, but he just doesn't seem to care about how well he does in school, let alone chemistry. We think that he needs to show more effort and initiative, and that we can be more diligent about checking in with him, but that he is placed in the right class.

However, the parents disagree. They see that he is failing and have initiated a request to move Charlie down to KI (Key Ideas) Chemistry, a lower level class. This logic makes sense: Charlie is failing general chemistry, so let's move him into a class that goes at a slower pace with more supports so that he can keep up. The administration has really dragged their feet, though, since we believe that moving Charlie will not be beneficial for him, and therein lies the rub. The parents have become quite frustrated with this - and rightfully so. If I thought my kid needed to be moved to a different class, and the administration would not respond, I'd be very frustrated. Parents should have the say over their children's education, shouldn't they?

At the same time, teachers and their administrators should have strong input. They are, after all, the professional educators in the situation, and they see how the student interacts with the material on a daily basis. The teachers and administrators also have a deep understanding of the situation - they know exactly how the KI and general classes compare. In this case, KI would be worse for Charlie - he doesn't need more cognitive support at a slower pace - he needs to put in some work and apply himself. He would have the same problem in KI.

What do you do, then, when teachers and administration completely disagree on what is best for the student? Both parties want to do what is best for the Charlie, but they view the solution in polar opposites. This one has not yet been worked out. We are pushing for extra support (like daily check-ins) in the meantime to keep Charlie on pace. We'll have to wait and see what the outcome is.