四六个练习.docVIP

Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Parents’ Homework: Find Perfect Teachers for Kids 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 wait for news of their classroom assignments — and it’s been torturing. The Aurora mom knows her efforts carry no guarantees. One year 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.” 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. 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. “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