On March 1st, the students of Edina High School finished registering for classes. As they decided what classes they would be taking next year, they were told to consider a few things: rigor, graduation requirements, and their future. They were, however, instructed not to choose classes based on who might be teaching them. So, should a teacher impact whether or not you take a class?

Sophomore Alex Davis thinks that teachers do make a difference. “I’m taking A.P. Comparative Government next year just to have Mrs. Nimmo, and she’s also the reason that I’m participating in Model United Nations,” he said. Davis has also had a different math teacher each semester this year. “Having a different teacher makes a huge difference for me,” he said.

The fact is, students have different learning styles. While some may prefer a teacher who lets them work independently during class, another may need an interactive teacher.

Although it is unclear whether or not counselors think a teacher should impact why a student takes a class, guidance counselor Bill Hicks agrees that “teachers do impact a student’s learning experience.” Whether it is because of different learning styles or compatible personalities, students will find themselves being more successful with some teachers than others.

So, if teachers do impact learning in different ways, why are we advised to avoid picking classes based on teachers during registration?

“Counselors don’t want kids to be disappointed in their class selections” said Mr. Hicks. In other words, counselors don’t want students to get their hopes up for having a teacher, only to find that a class doesn’t fit their schedule.

Students at Edina High School are lucky to be part of a system in which they can switch teachers and request up to one teacher. According to Mr. Hicks, EHS is one of the few schools that allows students to request having one teacher over another. Although the request may not always be met due to scheduling conflicts and class sizes, administration goes through each request before the following school year. If you hope to have a certain teacher, it’s definitely worth asking your counselor about.

Here at Edina, with our ability to request teachers, we are given the privilege to let a teacher impact why we take a class. However, you shouldn’t base our schedules off of what we hear  from siblings and other students because the fact is, you won’t know what you think of a teacher until you actually take his or her class.  While teachers greatly impact our learning experience, we shouldn’t be too quick to judge whether that impact will be good or bad.