This is what we requested, after a year in which the non-mathy teacher had DD baffled as to how to do math: "We'd like to request that [DD] be placed with a teacher who is good at explicitly explaining the logic behind the math being taught next year. This past year, [DD] has had issues with rote problem-solving techniques. When she doesn't understand why a given method works, she has difficulty consistently applying that method to her assignments."
I put in some other examples of how DD has issues with being asked to follow a set process without understanding the logic behind that process, and an explanation that in non-math subjects, it was affecting her classroom grade but not her ability to learn those subjects, because I think a big part of the issue is "DD is not picking up on implicit instructions," and IMHO the school is more receptive to "my kid has a weakness and needs a teacher who can help remediate that" than to "we don't want a bad teacher."
There are three teachers next year; the one generally thought of as the best has already said she'd like to have DD next year. My goal is to not get the one generally thought of as the worst unless she is particularly good at what DD needs.
