I have a 10-year-old girl who loves to read but gets disappointed in school when the teacher never calls on her to read in class like she does the other children. I have talked to the teacher about this and nothing seems to happen. The school says the teacher has her own reasons on the matter. I am thinking about taking her out of the school and putting her in another school. Is this the right thing I should do?

I think before I did something as drastic as pulling my child out of school, I would be doing a lot more visiting with the teacher and the school administration. Changing schools can be very traumatic on a child, and it would take some serious thought on my part as a parent before I changed her entire friend network and school support group. Now that it’s summer, perhaps the problem is solved as she’s getting a new teacher in the fall? Sometimes, it’s just one of those life lessons we have to learn that we don’t get along with everybody all the time, and your daughter is going to run into teachers like that. Sadly. (

If, on the other hand, you feel that there is a legitimate problem and the teacher is truly ignoring your child, a serious discussion needs to take place between you, the teacher, and the administration. Be specific with your concerns and have examples ready to state. Perhaps it’s just an oversight on the teacher’s part, but maybe not. Ask her to explain her actions and discuss what behavior she is seeing in class. How can you as a parent help? Discuss how her actions are affecting your daughter and how she feels about school. Perhaps it’s just a true personality conflict and changing classes/teachers would be a valuable solution. If there is a transfer needed, ask the administration and teacher involved to be professional and not discuss it throughout the school with other faculty members. Your daughter deserves a fair chance in a new class without the “offered opinion” of her former teacher. Keeping the lines of communication open between the teacher, you as the parent, and the school administration will be a good step to helping your daughter with the entire educational process. Good luck to you.