Assignment for Parents Is to Find Best Teacher : By selecting the people who will instruct their youngsters, adults can have a greater impact on their education than by selecting which school they will attend.

A new law gives California parents the right to choose their children’s schools, putting us among an increasing number of open-enrollment states.

The idea is to raise educational quality by creating competition among schools. It’s the same theory that was behind last year’s unsuccessful school voucher proposal.

Los Angeles school district officials told me the new program didn’t generate as much interest as they had anticipated. Most parents opted to remain close to home--probably because the bill doesn’t provide for transportation, possibly because they are happy with their neighborhood schools.

Even so, not all the L.A. schools had openings, and of those that did, some, like Welby Way Elementary, had more applicants than space.

Parents shouldn’t feel guilty if they have decided not to send their kids over the hill or across the Valley, and they shouldn’t feel too disheartened if they tried to switch to a popular school but couldn’t. The best educational opportunity might just be at their neighborhood schools.

Remember, education happens in the classroom. Every school can boast of some great teachers. Even the schools with the best reputations have some poor instructors. Selecting children’s teachers can have a greater impact on their education than selecting the school.

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I spoke with several local school districts about this, and none actually has a policy limiting the parents’ right to select their children’s teachers. They leave it to the principal, and I’ve never met a principal who wouldn’t go out of his or her way to please a parent. So if you want your kids to receive the best education available, find the best teachers.

How do you go about it? Typically, kids and teachers are assigned to one another in Los Angeles schools. Pupils can request specific teachers, but whether the request is honored depends on the counselor and whatever rules the principal may have laid down. It would be best to pick teachers the year before your child is in their classes, but you may have to wait until September when the semester has started.

Arrange to meet with the teacher at a time convenient to both of you--then be prompt. Teachers’ days are ruled by the school bell, which waits for no one.

As a parent, you have a right to know about the teacher’s college degree, teaching credential and experience. But don’t arbitrarily rule out inexperienced teachers who might make up in creativity and enthusiasm what they lack in experience. Some of the teachers with the most years in the classroom are among the most burned-out, the least willing to adapt to the newer school reforms.

Pretend you are conducting a job interview--in a way you are. Is the teacher happy about being a teacher? What’s the best part about teaching? The worst? Listen to the response.

What does the teacher do to stay abreast of new developments in education? Read professional journals? Take courses? Attend conventions? Is the teacher interested in education reform?

Talk about the subjects the class will cover, but keep in mind that the specific material may be less important than the methods employed. “Take the professor, not the course,” wise college students tell one another. What’s important--learning facts or exploring ideas? Giving the expected response to a piece of literature or developing an individual viewpoint?

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Ask about discipline, homework, how absences and tardiness affect the class work and the grade. Try to ferret out whether the teacher has any predispositions which might favorably or unfavorably affect your child. Perhaps the teacher loves children who can enter a room without making a sound. Maybe creative children a little out of the mainstream are valued most.

Ultimately, ask yourself if this is someone your child would want to spend time with every day and then ask yourself why. A lot will depend upon how well you know your child.

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Speaking of choice, how about choice for teachers? I’d willingly put in even more unpaid overtime than I do now if I could handpick my students.

I wouldn’t necessarily seek out the brightest kids. I value students who want to learn, who make a commitment to attend school daily and who try their best. I would look for parents who understand that teachers can’t do it alone but need support from home.

As a parent, you will have to push the system a bit, but you may be surprised at how much teachers welcome your involvement and how much it will help your child learn. When kids come to school prepared and go home to an environment that values education, great things can happen.