Some moms make teaching difficult
Some moms make teaching difficult

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When your entire school is concerned about what one mother thinks, then you're in trouble. The problem is that if enrollment numbers are dictated by parental opinions, then what Mommie Dearest thinks IS important. Let's take a look at a real-life example.

Mommie has several children in a small school. She wants her eldest to be the best in his small class and go on to some fancy high school. He's lazy. His grades suffer when there's homework, so she complains. Did I mention she has a lot of money and pays for about 1/50th of the tuition collected. That's why her complaint matters, and since she knows this, she goes right to the principal.

Later, Mommie sees test scores aren't as good as they should be, but instead of realizing that lack of practice (homework) affects test scores, another complaint is filed above the teacher in order to state that more test prep needs to occur. And then, as the year starts to head towards graduation, Mommie sees that the total coverage in classes will not include everything she deems fit, so she takes this one right to the top, even above the principal, threatening to pull all future children from the school.

Mommie Dearest is in every school district, but in a larger public school, her demands are laughable. She could always send the kids to a private school is the answer. When she does just that, it's because she wants to run the school. And it's difficult not to allow it if said school is trying to keep enrollment up.

Of course, Mommie needs to eventually admit that she can't dictate to college or a future employer how to treat her babies, but she will continue to do so at her private school. Anyone who has had a parent like this knows how difficult it makes the profession of teaching. No private school built on private funding is immune to this kind of behavior. And it probably gets worse in a half-voucher situation, where some kids get the education free while others pay full price. Mommie is sure to let everyone know she pays. But everyone pays with this person at the helm.