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I would talk to the teacher but I would look for a new school. My son was getting hit in his preschool by one boy and my son never told me about it. He was very shy, I only found out because he brought a toy one day and it got broke. He told me that the boy who had been hitting him broke it ,then he told me that the same boy had been hitting him.This was going on for three weeks, his school hours were M-F 8:30-11:30. No wonder he threw such a fit in the morning, I just thought it was because he was so shy and was with new people. When he told me about it I could feel my blood boiling, I got so angry that I had to go out to the garage to vent before calling the school or I would have ripped them a new one. When I called I was still very angry and all they would say is (kids hit) we can not see every child at every moment, we keep them safe but we can't see every interaction. They also had other reports about the same child and had given the parents a warning. If the child is aggressive towards other children more then twice they basically kick them out of the school. I could not wait for that,my son never returned to that school. He started a new school the next week and we never had a problem.
Not looking for a heated debate . . . I did read every word that you wrote. You were trying to justify what happened in that preschool by the low-paying wages. My point to you is that it should not matter how much a person's salary is. They took a position with a responsibility to watch those children and they didn't do the job effectively! Not at the Head Teacher or Assistant level!
Your quote, "that does not excuse the lack of supervision". Why then did you even comment on salaries?
As far as you thinking that the pay scale does matter somehow and that "you get what you pay for", should a child really be treated any different whether their teacher makes $50,000 or $100,000 a year? I think not!
And lastly, I do sympathize with the mother. She was put through a very fearful time. I also have 4 children and I will never stop worrying about their well being.
Not looking for a heated debate . . . I did read every word that you wrote. You were trying to justify what happened in that preschool by the low-paying wages. My point to you is that it should not matter how much a person's salary is. They took a position with a responsibility to watch those children and they didn't do the job effectively! Not at the Head Teacher or Assistant level!
Your quote, "that does not excuse the lack of supervision". Why then did you even comment on salaries?
As far as you thinking that the pay scale does matter somehow and that "you get what you pay for", should a child really be treated any different whether their teacher makes $50,000 or $100,000 a year? I think not!
And lastly, I do sympathize with the mother. She was put through a very fearful time. I also have 4 children and I will never stop worrying about their well being.
My point, that you obviously missed, if that some preschools do not hire quality staff and the best you can do, if you use daycare or preschool, is to research the school, get references, and be sure that you are getting qualified teachers and support staff and a good child:staff ratio. It's not that hard to open a daycare center, call yourself a teacher, and hire a few HS grads as assistants. Also check to see what their procedures are regarding supervision, discipline methods, and policies using items such as scissors, paint, markers and when playing outdoors. A red flag in this case was the fact that the scissors were even available to three year olds without supervision and also the fact that the teacher supposedly reprimanded the children by yelling at them.
I certainly wasn't justifying or excusing anything that this school may or may not have done. However, as a former substitute preschool teacher, I felt that I might offer a comment regarding the supposed high salaries at preschools, which in my opinion is not the case. Shame on me once again for thinking that a different viewpoint might actually be useful.
And the low pay probably attracts lesser-qualified workers.... That's another reason I am opposed to putting kids in day care unless its a total last resort...I would never trust the well-being of my children to some low-wage daycare worker who couldn't care less about the kids as long as they stay quiet. Its about time more parents started sacrificing "careers" and material things and started actually raising their kids.
Some women don't have the option; they are single providers. One can't simply ignore their existence and circumstances.
Wow! I would be livid! I taught pre-school when my son was younger as well and I enrolled him into our program like you p/t just so he could develop socialization skills but this is taking it too far where dramatic play is concerned.
I do not know enough about the classroom to make a judgement, i.e. teacher/student ratio. I know that scissors in preschool are offered in the writing centers to develop small motor skills but to have private time to cut a childs hair? My first question would be where were these children at where they could do this tomfoolery w/out a teacher seeing it? How many teachers are monitoring the centers? How many children are allowed to be at a center at one particular time? Are they monitored when they use the bathroom? (This could have happened there)
Ahh so many questions, but ones that should be asked. I would ask to have the teachers present to ask them what happened and where they were.
And as you stated the damage is done and irreversible but this can be used as a good wake-up call. I would like to think in a perfect world that the teachers would be written up because the saying "Children will childre" just doesn't cut it, this time was cutting hair but what will it be next time?
While it is impossible to have eyes on the back of your head supervision should be of the most importance.
My point, that you obviously missed, if that some preschools do not hire quality staff and the best you can do, if you use daycare or preschool, is to research the school, get references, and be sure that you are getting qualified teachers and support staff and a good child:staff ratio. It's not that hard to open a daycare center, call yourself a teacher, and hire a few HS grads as assistants. Also check to see what their procedures are regarding supervision, discipline methods, and policies using items such as scissors, paint, markers and when playing outdoors. A red flag in this case was the fact that the scissors were even available to three year olds without supervision and also the fact that the teacher supposedly reprimanded the children by yelling at them.
I certainly wasn't justifying or excusing anything that this school may or may not have done. However, as a former substitute preschool teacher, I felt that I might offer a comment regarding the supposed high salaries at preschools, which in my opinion is not the case. Shame on me once again for thinking that a different viewpoint might actually be useful.
You made an excellent point. I agree it does not take that much education to open up a home day care or to be hired at a center usually all they request is around 3-9 units! This is a shock mainy because this is just the basic intro to Early childhood education. I have seen and heard many horrors as a Former Head start validator/Master Teacher and Case Manager. Parents need to make an informed decision when entrustinng others to take care of their children.
While the pay may be low this should not detract away from the quality of education that an employee has. Too often that ratios are too high and when the staff is unqualified this equals a recipe for chaos.
I have always counseled friends and family to call their local licensing dept inquire on schools/centers see what centers have reports against them and for what, ask them for a safety checklist of things to look for that should be basics in a well run center.
Do walk throughs, go unexpectedly, ask them how they handle nap time, mealtimes, look through their centers, see what type of manipulatives/materials are available and so forth. But most important? Ask them what credentials/education is the staff required to have.
Not looking for a heated debate . . . I did read every word that you wrote. You were trying to justify what happened in that preschool by the low-paying wages. My point to you is that it should not matter how much a person's salary is. They took a position with a responsibility to watch those children and they didn't do the job effectively! Not at the Head Teacher or Assistant level!
You are missing a crucial distinction between "justifiable" and "explainable."
The low-paying wages explain how pre-school education typically attracts under-qualified employees, and how negligent supervision issues like this can arise as a result. No one thinks the behavior of the pre school teachers is actually justified. It's like saying that "Al Qaeda's attacks on our country were a reaction to our foreign policy missteps including our categorical support for Israel and our convenient support for dictators in the region over the last 50 years." That's an explanation for what happened on Sept. 11th. It doesn't in any way actually justify what the terrorists did.
Going back to the daycare issue, obviously these people aren't up to snuff, and stuff like this is going to happen until we do something about access to and the quality of pre-school education.
I think it was wrong that the Daycare tried to hide this from you. I would immediately take my child out and speak with the administrators or the Dept of Human Services Daycare section. What was the Staff doing? Why were you not called? I know children are children but what if one would of poked your child in the eye? Anything could have happened. This is very upsetting to me. I have 4 children and I know I would be at the daycare with the staff and the other childrens parents. I am sorry that your daughter was subjected to this. I know her hair will grow back, but who wants it done like this?
You are missing a crucial distinction between "justifiable" and "explainable."
The low-paying wages explain how pre-school education typically attracts under-qualified employees, and how negligent supervision issues like this can arise as a result. No one thinks the behavior of the pre school teachers is actually justified. It's like saying that "Al Qaeda's attacks on our country were a reaction to our foreign policy missteps including our categorical support for Israel and our convenient support for dictators in the region over the last 50 years." That's an explanation for what happened on Sept. 11th. It doesn't in any way actually justify what the terrorists did.
Going back to the daycare issue, obviously these people aren't up to snuff, and stuff like this is going to happen until we do something about access to and the quality of pre-school education.
I will disagree for one reason. Several years ago when I resided in Tx (husband was in the military) I was looking to get into a teaching position at a pre-school. I had my degree, I had the appropriate credentials however the money was not that great. I ended up finding a position in a Private school that was accredidated and had won "blue ribbon awards for offereing quality childcare" What I saw was sub-standard! The teachers were underpaid, they gave the children "candy" to get their attention or shut them up (horrific) and allowed them to color all day (also horrific) I was useto the californis standards where ratios were concerned but here they had 22 students to a Teacher and an assistant.
When I walked into to my new "classroom" I found the lead teacher in the midddle of the floor and stating that these kids were wild and she had no control. The assistant was lazy and all she was interested in was getting daycare at half off for her son and a paycheck!
I will admit getting the children on track was difficult and I had to end up firing my assistant and getting a better one who actually had a passion for what she did. I turned the classroom around, the kids were being potty trained, sat through circle time, had centers for the first time, and were learning their ABC's. I began a trend for doing a weekly newsletter and getting our parents involved by volunteering or adding to our classroom, I kept in contact with all of the parents and was respectful of their concerns. When our term was up and we were re-located my assistant took over and I left with confidence that the room would run as smoothly as it had.
At times it is not about the money it is about loving to work with kids and the joy of teaching.
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