Thanks to everyone who participated in the DS&D Blog Contest. Below is the winning topic I chose to write about:
How about pre-school kids getting kicked out because they are screaming, due to anxiety? What a horrible injustice it is to them. How they then feel that they can scream and get out of everything! How poorly some teachers handle things because they are not educated…
When Whitney Houston said “I believe the children are our future,“ she was right. (Granted, she also said “crack is whack“ while she was a raging crackhead but let’s try to remember the good.)
Children are our future. That is why I keep a lot of candy in my house. I want kids to like me. I’m going to need them one day. I may be the authority figure in their eyes right now, but that won’t last. It won’t be long before they’re running the show and I’m so old that my doctor is using a forklift for my facelift and my birth certificate says “expired.”
The other day I was driving along, minding my own business, when all of the sudden some old lady pulls out in front of me only to drive really, really slow. What do you do? What else can you do but shake your head with annoyance, bust a vein in your forehead, and yell “Can you pick it up, grandma?”
Next time you do that, though, keep this in mind: You will be that “grandma” before you know it and someone from a younger generation is going to do the same thing to you.
Our country depends on the kids who will one day be driving behind us, and if those kids don’t have good teachers now, we’re in big, big trouble.
I don’t know of anyone who thinks teachers are compensated fairly. Children may be our future but teachers are the heroes. The pay they receive doesn’t accurately reflect the importance of their job and I don’t care if they do have their summers off, they still work harder than most everyone who makes more than them. School may end at 3:00 or so, but that‘s not the end of their day. Many teachers are doing extra-curricular activities while others are working on lesson plans or correcting the work handed in that day.
For good teachers, teaching can be a thankless job. Sure, they get an apple every now and then, but that apple can’t make up for all the crap they take on a daily basis—even if it‘s one of those big, yellow Golden Delicious apples, and those are really good.
But, not all teachers are good teachers. Some are bad. Like bad, and considering that they’re working with kids who are going to have a lot of say about what happens to us one day, that is not good. Notwithstanding the fact that teachers don’t make jack, they’re overworked and they’re underappreciated, they did, still and all, sign up for the job. I don’t care what kind of job you have, have some self respect and do it to the best of your ability or get out. I feel strongest about that statement if that job is teaching because that is pretty much the most important job there is. That’s where it all starts.
It all starts with the teachers.
I’m not saying teachers can’t, or shouldn’t, complain about their jobs, I totally would—and as far as I’m concerned, the better the teacher, the more room they’re allowed for bitching. But if you’re not a good teacher, hit the bricks. You didn’t get into the profession for the cash or the notoriety so what were you expecting? There are lots of people who are waiting for your job and not only would they be thrilled to get it, they might even do a good job.
Now, I don’t know the whole story about the little kid who was kicked out of pre-school for crying but I’m picturing two sides of the story:
The Side of the Parent:
You just kicked my kid out for crying and clearly he has anxiety about something. Plus, he’s in pre-school. That is what little kids do. They cry and whine and scream. How about drawing on something you learned in college instead of kicking him out? Now I have to figure out what to do with my kid while I’m working, and not only that, but thanks to you and your blatant laziness in teaching, he now thinks he can get away with all kinds of crap just because he is crying and screaming. What is my kid being taught from all of this? Nothing good. Thanks a lot, bad teacher. I’m never giving you an apple.
The Side of the Teacher:
I’m sorry that I had to unload your kid, but I have lots of other kids in my class and your kid is making my job very difficult. I’m a teacher, not a glorified babysitter. How can I effectively teach the kids who aren’t crying and screaming while your kid is having a anxiety attack at the glue and popsicle stick table?
Am I close?
And if I am, who’s right?
Thanks for being here!
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Good post.
Hi, I'm a special ed. teacher and in my district it's not the teacher who kicks out a student, it's the decision of the principal and administration. Often one reason is for the safety of the other children in the class. But it would have to be pretty darn extreme to expel a preschooler!
But if it's a private run preschool then it's has it's own rules.
It would be interesting to have more facts about this situation.
Great Post!
Great post! My french teacher had this sign in his classroom that said "teaching is the one profession that makes all other professions possible," and it's really true when you think about it- it DOES all start with teaching. He also had terrible, terrible breath. But, terrible breath and all, he was one of the best teachers I've ever had. This is making me nostalgic – good teachers are my favorite.
I was all ready to flame you for not telling the teacher's side but of course you did and you did it well. Thank you.
glue and popsicle stick table
HA HA HA!!!!!!
LOVE IT!!!!
I am all for you telling the side of the teacher….as it was my kid. The problem was they didn't try to work it out, make a plan or give any notice. It was all very unprofessional.
Well, I teach preschool and I agree that is not the decision of the teacher. It is or should be the decision of the administration. And there should be a procedure and steps taken before a student is just kicked out.
I also agree that safety is first. Is the child being safe to him/herself, could possibly harm others? That always comes first in our preschool.
And I also agree "It's Preschool". Their first time to start learning. Learning how to be social, be away from parents, be with other children, share, be patient, take turns, etc. Lots of life long skills there.
I also personally believe that teachers do a lot of "raising my chidren". I have 3 myself and the teachers in their lives, year after year, see my children more than I do in a day and week. I have to do my best job at home and raise them as well as I can, so that they can go to school and learn. Not have the teacher do the "home raising" lessons at school, but rather the "education raising" at school. Both are huge responsibilites.
Loved this post. 5 stars!
LN Malacky
I just have to say, I LOVE YOU!
I am one of the teachers who is still waiting for an opening to come up here in Michigan. I agree with you 100%! The reward you get as a teacher are the students who continue to come back to say hi, remember you and still come to you for advice or help. It is a real shame that our politicians don't value education!
I miss my classroom and my students!
I have my own preschool and have never had to kick a child out. And I've seen some strange stuff.
I kind of think the parent in your scenario is right, to a degree. Classroom management skills and strategies are just as important as knowing the material one is teaching. Ideally, the family would be referred to some sort of early intervention specialist or behavioral specialist for services which might help the child if after several conferences and corrections by the teacher, the child was still deemed unmanagable by the teacher. Kicking a child out for uncontrollable anxiety should be the last resort; trying to find resources and help for the family, be it for the parents, child or both, should be the first.
All I know is that I've been a teacher (7 years, 2 in K and 5 in 3rd) and now I'm home with my kids (K, 8th and 12th grade). We homeschool. The youngest child is from China, the older two are bio sons. My life has totally changed with our youngest. She is high-anxiety, hyper-vigilant, and oh yes, let's throw in some OCD…I don't know how I would cope if I had to work away from her, and I don't know how *she* would cope with that. I can imagine her being the screaming one at the popsicle-stick station in preschool. Right now, I'd be happy if she could sleep by herself and not freak out when she thinks I've disappeared but just went to the bathroom.
Love your humor on your blog!
Teacher and parent here- Who's right?
They both are.
and thanks to our low standards for preschool teachers, they do not have the same education standards as k-12 teachers (and the pay is more miserable) Many preschool teachers have no degree at all. And let me tell you- kids today are getting more complicated. Mix little training with children who deviate from the norm even slightly and here you are.
As someone who has worked with young children for a very long time, and also as a current preschool teacher, I love this post.
It's nice to be able to hear a parent's side of the story, because once the kid's gone, you hear nothing from the family again.
I believe it should not be the decision of the teacher or director or principal or whoever to decide that a kid is "unfit" for a school or whatever, and then kick the kid out. It hurts the kid and the kid only. Sure, parents will figure something else out for daycare, and the teacher will go on. It is gonna suck for the kid.
I mean sure, there are some situations where a child leaving a school or center is beneficial, but I think those situations are ones where the kid is violent with others to an extent that cannot be changed. However, even then, there are so many more options than just "well siyonara" Sit and talk with mommy and daddy, bring junior along if need be. Find out what's going on at home. It's KIDS 101, chances are good something might be happening at home, or even at school when no one can see. Maybe junior gets picked on. Maybe animal crackers send him into a flying rage. Who knows, point is: don't kick him out for it. Find out what is going on, get the kid the help he needs.