Who has more authority over the classroom?

Question

I’m an education major & was doing a reading about disagreements with parents & how to handle them. 
One of the examples was regarding when a parent is adamant in their beliefs & insists their child not be sat by a certain student, not play with certain toys, or something similar. Eg, per the book, “I don’t want my kid to sit next to a Mexican child.”
The book says, and I agree, that the teacher has the authority to say “No. That’s not how things will go in my classroom. If you don’t like it you can choose another class.”
My boyfriend argued that teachers shouldn’t able to have that outlook or that authority of the classroom. He says they shouldn’t have the mentality of “My way or get out.” regardless of if they are dealing with potentially prejudiced parents. 
I would say that sitting down and talking with the parents to reach an understanding would be preferable, but parents can be very adamant in their beliefs. 
Thoughts?

Answer

I think if a parent or caregiver is raising legitimate concerns about their child in class, then I do believe it is the teachers duty to address those xoncersn. 
IF THEY'RE REASONABLE. 
Not the- my daughter is a genius and must sit a quarter inch to the left of the clock while twirling her pencil counterclockwise. 
Those parents can go elsewhere. 
But if a parent is concerned about their child being too talkative and asking for him to not be seated next to the student he talks the most with, seems reasonable enough. And could improve the overall quality of the xlasroom envielnent by not having a lot of disruptions.

Answer

I have pretty strict rules in my classroom. If the parents are not happy, go somewhere else. I do not have some outrages rules, just simple things, be respectful, no eating in class, drawing on the walls or throwing litter. I had a parent who insisted that their child should always sit at the front and in the middle of the class, when asked why? He replied with “i want my child to be the best, thats why he should be at the front”🤦🏼‍♀️I said no and the parents threw tantrum in the corridor. You don’t like it? Go somewhere else. Another case was a parents who complained that me and the other staff did not allow children to eat in class. Mind you all, we are talking about 9-14 years old children. He said his child cant last without a snack for more than 15 min, we asked for a doctor’s prescription, he didn’t provide one. This kept going on for about 3 months, when finally the school suspended the student and was his family to relocate him.

Answer

I think teachers should consider non harmful requests (like say the child is easily distracted, so they request he or she not be seated near a window where there are more possible distractions). but over all it is your classroom and you need to do what you feel is best for the over all class

Answer

It depends, and is a case by case bases.  Sybil provided some good examples of when a teacher has more authority, like no eating in class. My daughter's classroom for example will not allow junk food for snack time, it must be fruit, vegetables, hummus, cheese sticks or something along those lines and only water, anything else will be sent back home whether the parents like it or not.  Racism should never be tolerated, EVER. A teacher should not even be allowed to accept such non sense in their classroom just bc it's a parents request. A parents request that should be honored could be something like "my child has this severe allergy, can you ban this product in your classroom or keep far away?". I've had to ask a teacher to not sit my daughter next to a certain student bc he was bullying her calling her and I quote "A nerdy Christmas tree head" (bc of her hair 😔). It hurt my daughter's self esteem and made her uncomfortable, her teacher was understanding and honored my request.

Answer

Wait so there are parents like this out there that demand certain things for their kid?

Answer

The teacher has more authority in the classroom. A wise teacher will find away to work with most reasonable parent requests. I have some firm rules: no juice in the classroom (lunch room is fine, but only water in class); no class snacks with any nut  products; no outside coats on inside the room; and we’re only allowed one birthday party each month (which I actually hate, but that one is a School rule.)  Many times a parent will tell me “I don’t want my child to be near _____.” I always tell them I’ll do my best, but that ultimately it’s up to their child to make good choices because we don’t have assigned desks.  In ten years I’ve only had two really over the top parents. One expected constant access to me to ask the same lengthy questions everyday. I actually hid in the closet when I heard her coming. The other has history of assaulting School staff. She would bring her son hot wings for lunch every day, but never actually AT lunch time. Sorry, but no one is eating hot wings in my classroom, especially during instructional time.

Answer

I think it’s just situational. I intend on letting the teacher do their thing unless it’s actually harming my child in someway. I’ve had really asshole teachers so I’ll probably be a bit wary but yeah the teacher can choose who sits next to who, but if some little bully is mean to my little girl, I’d expect them to change it. And if they didn’t, I would pull her from the class.

Answer

Your boyfriend is dead ass wrong. When a parent is telling you that their child cannot sit next to a Mexican child that is coming from a place of prejudice— which has no place in the classroom ie YOUR classroom. The classroom is like your house, therefore it’s your rules. The parents can teach whatever the hell they want to their kids at home but you best believe that when they’re in the classroom, they follow YOUR rules and expectations.
I’m a teacher and I’ve heard and seen enough racist shit said and done by parents. I don’t play that shit in my classroom and if their parents don’t agree then they take their kids elsewhere.
Now with that said, if a parent didn’t want their child to sit next to another kid because they won’t pay attention in class or because they’ll play around too much when they sit together, etc then I will try to adhere to the parents wishes.

Answer

In that case, that’s pure racism and shouldn’t be tolerated. 
In other cases A teacher should absolutely have the main authority in his/her classroom. That being said, a great teacher will listen to parents, and take reasonable request into account. If a parent ever feels the teacher is abusing their power in the classroom, it should be brought to the administration. Kids act differently when interacting at school vs with a parent, so in the school setting the teacher likely knows more about where a student needs to go/do to be successful in the classroom. For the best educational experience the teacher and parents will work together to find the best solutions for each child. There shouldn’t have to be a power struggle between teachers and parents.

Answer

I think that when it comes to things like social issues like the one you mentioned, the teacher should be able to say no. Things like what books/toys/movies etc. are appropriate should be up to the parent, as well as if there’s an issue between two students and parents decide they don’t want them near each other (not for a racist reason, but if they believe it’s a negative influence or something) — though for that past instance, the teachers shouldn’t have to go completely out of their way to accommodate the parent.

Who has more authority over the classroom?

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