DS's current teacher really took me aback when I first met her in that she seemed very no nonsense and like she might be very strict. I was worried. But she turned out to be very warm to the kids, and was always watching out for DS, for instance she made sure he was fitting in and making friends. DS likes her a lot. Maybe the first grade teacher who I was worried about being "too strict" would have been fine too, for all I know. His current teacher has no problem with doing what is necessary, in order to give DS the correct level work, even though it's not normally done in the district. She did turn out to be the best teacher he probably could have had. It's hard to figure out--that's for sure. We have also run into the problem where everyone raves about all the teachers and I find it so hard to fathom how clueless and overly optimistic parents seem to be. Way too Pollyanna about everything. I guess if parents are negative (or realistic) it creates too much cognitive dissonance.
