There are some students who 'get' what it means to succeed in a school environment. To be interested, to be engaged, to get on with others, to take the positives out of any task or situation, who say friendly things. They don't make up the bulk of the class who are generally just nice kids who are getting on with the business of having to turn up to school every day. There are some kids who don't 'get,' or can't cope with, what school is about. They get more attention basically in the same way that if a kid has asthma, you don't give him the inhaler and then pass it round the rest of the class because that is 'fair.' As a teacher I can like a student, but still be on their case for them to produce better work. My job is to get the most out of the 30 people in front of me, whether that's easy or not.

If you talk to any teachers, you will find that they will speak glowingly about some of their students.

I think human nature has a lot to do with teachers having favorites. They see qualities in some of their students that they wish their own kids possess.

I don't see anything wrong with this. Teachers are human like the rest of us.

My teacher has favorites and although it's human nature to have them I wish she didn't, because it effects and affects the other students who aren't on her favorite list. One girl actually spoke out about it in class ,because she feels left out ,and I can understand why she does...Because those who aren't on her list don't get the attention/help that they need.

How could a teacher not help having a favorite student? However, I don't think the student should be shown any preferential treatment because of it.

i'm a teacher and i can admit there are some students that are more troublesome than others but i don't have a favorite, it try to see each of them as individuals and get to know them. whats funny about this question is that the ones that are my most problematic students usually get most of my attention and that in itself creates a certain closeness. inevitably some just slip through the cracks, i am human you know.

I don't think "all" teachers have a favorite and I don't think they "should", but the fact is, they are human. They meet hundreds and thousands of students over the course of a career and they are bound to like some more than others.

How they treat the students and how well they teach is what matters.