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Hello you all. I am a Pre K teacher in the state of Georgia. I currently teach Pre K in daycare facility that offers a federally funded Pre K. I had many offers to teach at public schools, but decided to first test teaching at a daycare just to see if it is something that I like to do.I also have a background with teaching inside a daycare. My parents actually own their own learning facility where I did the day to day functions of a learning facility and also taught Pre K. I decided to branch off and explore more which is why I left. I have now came to the conclusion that I do not like teaching Pre K at a daycare and that I sold my self short by taking the position.
Firstly the place is a family owned business. Many of the workers there have been there since its establishment. They are always hounding me over little things and the director tells the cook which is a family member of hers almost everything about what is going on in my classroom. The cook feel as if she is the boss whenever the director/owner isn't there. Basically the place is too small and lacks professionalism.
I am also at my wits end with the classroom situation because the director have not supplied any resources that the class needs. We have yet to get a curriculum as well. I am basically teaching these kids from experience that I got working under my mom that was also a pre k teacher. I literally have to fo out of pocket to get all of the resources we do not have for simple activities. 3 months into the school year my parapro and I have to rearrange the classroom according to the state requirements because the director put the class together wrong. She also placed the pre k room in an area where she was told not to put the classroom in because of lack of space. She purchased used over sized desk that takes up way too much space . A ton of things in my classroom are way too big and secondhand. This woman had money to get a state of the art classroom, but we have nothing.
I also disliked how they were still accepting kids into the classroom after september. The list is now closed. I now have 3 students that recently started last week and it is a hassle because I have to teach them things that we already did 2 months ago.
Would I have had these problems if I would have taken a position at a public school? I talked with other teachers that taught at public schools at a job training and they do not have any of these problems.
I am planning on seeking a job at a public school after the school year ends. All I need to do is to earn my provisional teaching license. I have a one year wavier at the moment.
I'm going to assume the place isn't NAEYC accredited, or anything, because with bad setups, inappropriate furnishings, and no curriculum in place, it wouldn't pass audit. Something to consider, since when places are noncompliant with various regulations, it can be you, not the director, who gets scapegoated.
As far as students still filtering in after the start of the school year, in a daycare facility, this is standard. They come and go year-round, as long as there is space for them. My main experience working pre-k was for a DoD-run facility on a military base, and the revolving door of kids is a way of life in these communities. We had a waitlist, usually, but still had a pretty steady rotation.
Would I have had these problems if I would have taken a position at a public school? I talked with other teachers that taught at public schools at a job training and they do not have any of these problems.
I am planning on seeking a job at a public school after the school year ends. All I need to do is to earn my provisional teaching license. I have a one year wavier at the moment.
Yes, 1 thing is for certain, you would have many more problems in public school. I find it hard to believe the teachers you spoke to haven't had these problems. Just look over these message boards and you'll find hundreds of teachers complaining about the same things, plus a hundred more issues. You would however get more money which may make it worth it.
Hello you all. I am a Pre K teacher in the state of Georgia. I currently teach Pre K in daycare facility that offers a federally funded Pre K. I had many offers to teach at public schools, but decided to first test teaching at a daycare just to see if it is something that I like to do.I also have a background with teaching inside a daycare. My parents actually own their own learning facility where I did the day to day functions of a learning facility and also taught Pre K. I decided to branch off and explore more which is why I left. I have now came to the conclusion that I do not like teaching Pre K at a daycare and that I sold my self short by taking the position.
Firstly the place is a family owned business. Many of the workers there have been there since its establishment. They are always hounding me over little things and the director tells the cook which is a family member of hers almost everything about what is going on in my classroom. The cook feel as if she is the boss whenever the director/owner isn't there. Basically the place is too small and lacks professionalism.
I am also at my wits end with the classroom situation because the director have not supplied any resources that the class needs. We have yet to get a curriculum as well. I am basically teaching these kids from experience that I got working under my mom that was also a pre k teacher. I literally have to fo out of pocket to get all of the resources we do not have for simple activities. 3 months into the school year my parapro and I have to rearrange the classroom according to the state requirements because the director put the class together wrong. She also placed the pre k room in an area where she was told not to put the classroom in because of lack of space. She purchased used over sized desk that takes up way too much space . A ton of things in my classroom are way too big and secondhand. This woman had money to get a state of the art classroom, but we have nothing.
I also disliked how they were still accepting kids into the classroom after september. The list is now closed. I now have 3 students that recently started last week and it is a hassle because I have to teach them things that we already did 2 months ago.
Would I have had these problems if I would have taken a position at a public school? I talked with other teachers that taught at public schools at a job training and they do not have any of these problems.
I am planning on seeking a job at a public school after the school year ends. All I need to do is to earn my provisional teaching license. I have a one year wavier at the moment.
I would jump ship. You are not at a school per se, but a glorified baby sitting operation. The downside risk is near zero.
Many small family run daycares are horrible places to work at. Not all, but a lot of them. They are for profit and in order to make money, they cut corners. Their expenses, mostly insurance, are enormous and there is only so much that working parents are willing to pay, depending on the area. In working class/middle class areas, if the cost of tuition is so high that it doesn't pay for a parent to work, they won't send their child.
There must be some overseeing government agency that inspects the facility on a regular basis, especially if there are over a certain amount of children who are there for a certain amount of hours per day.
NAEYC standards are very high, but they are not mandatory. Their accreditation would just be for prestige to show that the facility operates at a certain high level.
Each state has their own prek/early childhood standards/common core stuff. I would suggest you look for those for your state online. As for a curriculum, you really don't need one. What your school needs to decide on is what kind of approach or pedagogy do they wish to follow. Montessori,play-based, academic-based, inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, investigative studies, High Scope, thematic approach are just the tip of the iceberg. Many are very opinionated about what constitutes best practices and some of it is just common sense. But there really is no "correct" curriculum. There are literally thousands of resources out there online and in books. Early childhood fads come and go. Use common sense about what skills to teach and use the seasons and upcoming holidays as a background to help tie it together. If you need more specific advice, feel free to PM.
Public School has it's own set of problems. There are advantages and disadvantages to both situations. The reason that most teachers prefer teaching public school is that most offer better salaries, benefits, and in some states, union protection. With a family run daycare, there is no way to move up. With public or even private elementary, a teacher has a career ladder. Daycare/private nursery is often favored by mothers who want to work, but can also be available to their own children and possibly bring their young child with them to the daycare.
Edited to add: a transitory situation may also be at public school. It really depends on the circumstances. Some daycares have excellent reputations and there is a long, long waiting list for years. But one thing is for certain, PREK IS NOT BABYSITTING. Every moment is an educational, teachable opportunity.
Hi you guys the place offers great benefits. I am paid and get benefit just as a school teacher. The program is a Pre K just not in the school but a daycare. The biggest problem is the people that are not professional. I feel if I was working in a public school I would be around much more professional teachers like me. Many daycare teachers are people that are looking for easy money because they think or once thought working with children were peaches and cream.
I am using academic learning with my pre k students. Many of my activities are meeting the Gelds or the standard for Georgia Pre K.
Another thing that really shocked me was that when I started working I was told to follow a lesson plan given by the state to do for 3 months because I am a new Georgia teacher and the lesson plan literally lacked all the fundamentals needed to prepare children for Kindergarten. The basically wanted us to teach social emotional and music play for three months. Just forget the cognitives and motor skills. I took upon myself to not teach that crap! They wanted all new teachers to teach academics after 3 months in the school year! I started teaching my students in August and now they know all of the letter sounds and letters. Know how to write their names and also can count from 1 to 30. I went to a conference and many pre k teachers that I conversed with have no idea how to teach Pre k. I think my students are the only group in Georgia that already know so much.
As an experienced teacher, I would not be interested in a pre-K that wants to teach "academics". Phonics awareness? Maybe it's because I'm in Canada, but we don't put that stuff at the preschool level. It's not a priority.
Yes, 1 thing is for certain, you would have many more problems in public school.
In early childhood, not necessarily. State run programs are required to adhere to standards that unaccredited privately run ones do not, necessarily. There is more managed oversight.
I taught preK in several different settings in Illinois. I taught at a YMCA daycare setting where the preK was half days. We were NAEYC accredited and the program was great. I taught PreK in a Church school (not religious, but rented from a church) and again the program was great. Note that neither of these programs had an *academic* curriculum. PreK can and should be play based and should concentrate on social skills. Incorporating learning letters, numbers, etc., can and should be done within the hands on activities that you do.
For example, our kids learned to write their names because they signed in like their parents did. We had a large piece of paper with squares they signed in so that they could write in larger letters. At 3 when they started, they could draw a picture in their square (but they were learning to recognize their names which were written in the square so they could find where to sign).
We incorporated science, phonemic awareness and math in activities that were active, not with worksheets. For example, the kids counted things we collected outside on our walks like acorns or pine cones or pebbles. They measured with their feet (how many steps does it take to get from one wall to the other). They mixed colors in arts and learned that red and blue make purple, etc. They had story times that incorporated all kinds of concepts. When we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, for example, we made caterpillars out of half egg cartons and made butterflies out of coffee filters. Then we used a paper bag for the chysalis and the kids put the caterpillar in the chrysalis on Friday and we hung them up on our window. When the kids came back on Monday and opened their bags, the butterflies were inside, so they got to see the *metamorphosis.*
We taught the kids problem solving and had a *peace table* where they could come and sit to work out conflicts. This took a good deal of teaching, but by the end of the year, the kids could and did come to the table without a teacher and talked their conflicts out.
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