(this is real. this is home...)the position i took was at a national center (that shall remain nameless due to lawsuits and such). when i took it, the thrill of working near home and taking over my own classroom was so thrilling...i ignored the fact that: a) the children are terribly misbehaved, b) the assistant director doesn't speak proper english, c) it is a national corporation and d) the other teachers there look like they couldn't care less about themselves nor do they contain any semblance of a personality. (see elaborations of above statements, below...) but, ya see, when you see a light at the end of the waitressing and part-time-jobs-on-the-side, lifestyle...you take it. especially when it's something you want to do and it means a steady paycheck. however...when it turns into a really lousy situation, really fast...i just refuse to settle in the name of convenience.
here, let me explain...
a) yes. children, especially 2-4 year olds are typically aren't perfectly behaved. i totally get that. however, when 50% of your class has high-risk (of injuring others) behavioral issues, there's a problem. i have been personally bit, kicked, hit, had chairs thrown at me and head-butted...now imagine what it must feel like when you're a child, to spend 8-12 hours with these other children, on a daily basis. there's no ability to 'teach' within that scenario. there's nothing but the need to manage behavior. why are they like this? because it's a national childcare chain. do you think mom looked for quality childcare or convenient childcare? yep. convenience. so, do you think, that after the kid has been in our care for 8-12 hours that mom has any energy to parent? nope, it's not convenient. so kid gets ignored, given whatever they want and not taught to behave. (many of my children came in not knowing how to wash their hands, wipe their nose--or even where their nose was for that matter--or how to put a cup into the sink when they were done.) basically, i was fighting an uphill battle with parents who don't care enough to teach their children right/wrong or even look for a better alternative to having them at a place where they were repeatedly injured by the other ones.
b) 'that ain't no toy! that's ucky!' -assistant director. 'nough said.
c) in my exit interview i referred to us as 'the walmart of childcare.' it's a bunch of people who don't care about quality. i actually had a five year old boy in my room who was so mentally disabled that he couldn't speak, use the toilet by himself, feed himself or stop drooling...plus, he had seizures. do you think mom or the center required him to have a PCA (personal care attendant)? nope. until i complained, with good reason (i'm not trained for him, it's not fair to him, it's not fair to other kids)...was anything done. he had been there for years and no one bothered to do anything to help him or the other kids! (it's impossible to be in-charge of nine other kids, plus him, without ignoring the other kids. who, on either end, would want their child in that situation? as a parent, why would you pay all that money so your child's teacher could play the role of teacher and PCA? why, as his parent, wouldn't you know that he deserves undivided attention?) but that's how it is. and, as a national center, you are corporate and SO completely out of touch with reality. they demand children are made to feel as if they're at home, but the lights can't be dimmed at nap time, teachers can't drink a cup of coffee in front of them (or even water out of anything but a styrofoam cup) (also...i broke that rule everyday i worked there. screw not having a cup of coffee. that wasn't even an option); plus, they asked that you sit down and eat lunch with the kids...fine, but i'm a vegetarian and they provided no vegetarian options; so, needless to say, that rule got broke too. everything was so by-the-book in a weird staged sort of way to try to make it seem 'homey'. yesterday, i had a tour come through my room so my assistant director came in 30 minutes before and made all the kids sit down and get into an activity and removed my bad ones. it looked picture perfect. ten minutes after they left, back to normal. they're in for an awesome surprise if they enroll. everything there was for show. i saw our cook, the meanest lady ever, make a crappy fort, take photos, post them on her wall saying 'look at all the fun we're having!' and then go back to screaming at them and calling them stupid under her breath. oh! and...one more thing...i had 16 kids enrolled in my class. but my limit was ten. so...for an hour of nearly everyday, off and on, i was over my limit and to solve that, nope, they didn't get me another teacher, they moved my older kids into the older rooms. rooms they aren't old enough for, but that was the only option. and they took my younger kids and moved them back. and that's fine on some days, but how can you teach a class when you don't even know what students you'll have from day to day? hour to hour? the kids would be completely ready to go outside (when you're three...getting dressed for mn winters is a major accomplishment. no one cared.) and they'd be told to undress and head to another room. we'd be going to music class and they'd be pulled out. we'd be starting a cool project and they'd be told to 'come help' for a little by the directors and then stuck in another room. that's super disappointing when you're little!
d) and the teachers. they settle on all of the above. plus, no raises for years, crappy uniforms (to dismiss any and all potential creativity) and lower than average pay. do you really think they're the best? or professionals? or do you think they're not there out of convenience and/or laziness too? i stood out like a sore thumb. yes, it was sometimes because i was wearing ridiculous shirts under my uniform shirt and random, un-matching scarves, polka dot socks with kitty shoes, a facial piercing (always got in trouble for it) and a cup of coffee (trouble for that one too...) but mostly it was because i had a personality and i let my kids have one too. stepping out of the cookie-cutter to make things be more real got you in trouble for making things too real. making things feel like home got you in trouble because there needs to be more order. making things have too much order, well, that's just something i couldn't do. the teachers that think this is okay, well, they stay. the ones that don't, leave. so, bringing your child to a place like this is bringing them to a place with watered down, zombie teachers who don't care enough to speak up about things that are wrong or have the desire to leave and bosses who's answer is to shuffle things and make it work for now.
i quit yesterday. i put in a measly one week notice because i can't do it anymore. in turn, i was offered different hours, a different location and different ages. my director teared up as i repeatedly turned her down but i just didn't care. i was so glad to have been hired at a beautiful, small, academy that feels full of life and color and home. i can't wait to bring myself to my class and have my class show me who they actually are.
sincerely,
teacher
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