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So a couple of years after Kroger I started working at a wonderful church dayschool. The great thing about working in a church dayschool is that for the most part everybody is tightknit and kind and there are no SCs. Well, virtually.
We had alot of new 4-year-olds start in our class last Fall semester, in addition to the kiddos who had moved up from the 3-year-old class. For those of you who don't know, alot of dayschools/cares offer fulltime or parttime care, parttime being either morning or afternoon. Now, the only problem with having morning/afternoon kids is that the teachers and activities change during naptime, so unless a child stays for the whole day they will not get the full benefit of the school. We had the mother of one of our part time (afternoon only) kids angry with us because "we weren't doing our job." Why? Because her daughter was not only not making friends like the other kids were, but she also did not know the alphabet, could not write her name, and could not recognize the letters in the alphabet.
This was our argument:
*Education takes time. Your child is half-day and is only here for 3 hours (literally!) a day. OF COURSE your child is not progressing at anywhere near the rate as the other children; the other children have the benefit of 4-5 more hours (depending on drop-off time) with us every weekday.
*The "meat" of the program is during the morning. Letters, writing, counting, songs, and social prowess are mostly done in the morning, when there is the most time.
*The lead teachers (teachers with lesson plans and the most training) are only there in the morning. The afternoon teachers just follow the guidelines set by the morning teacher and fill in the gaps with extra games and activities when neccisary. (As an afternoon teacher myself I try to do some academic stuff as well, but I can't vouch for the other PM teachers)
*The "danger" with having your child come in for a half day and be with children who are here for a full day is that your child will most likely not form the same bonds as the other children.
When she tried to tell us that "she didn't know all that," we responded with "this is all in the newsletter AND was told to you during your child's orientation."
She was understanding with that, but I just bugs me that she didn't have the common sense to know that half day is not the same as full day!
We had alot of new 4-year-olds start in our class last Fall semester, in addition to the kiddos who had moved up from the 3-year-old class. For those of you who don't know, alot of dayschools/cares offer fulltime or parttime care, parttime being either morning or afternoon. Now, the only problem with having morning/afternoon kids is that the teachers and activities change during naptime, so unless a child stays for the whole day they will not get the full benefit of the school. We had the mother of one of our part time (afternoon only) kids angry with us because "we weren't doing our job." Why? Because her daughter was not only not making friends like the other kids were, but she also did not know the alphabet, could not write her name, and could not recognize the letters in the alphabet.
This was our argument:
*Education takes time. Your child is half-day and is only here for 3 hours (literally!) a day. OF COURSE your child is not progressing at anywhere near the rate as the other children; the other children have the benefit of 4-5 more hours (depending on drop-off time) with us every weekday.
*The "meat" of the program is during the morning. Letters, writing, counting, songs, and social prowess are mostly done in the morning, when there is the most time.
*The lead teachers (teachers with lesson plans and the most training) are only there in the morning. The afternoon teachers just follow the guidelines set by the morning teacher and fill in the gaps with extra games and activities when neccisary. (As an afternoon teacher myself I try to do some academic stuff as well, but I can't vouch for the other PM teachers)
*The "danger" with having your child come in for a half day and be with children who are here for a full day is that your child will most likely not form the same bonds as the other children.
When she tried to tell us that "she didn't know all that," we responded with "this is all in the newsletter AND was told to you during your child's orientation."
She was understanding with that, but I just bugs me that she didn't have the common sense to know that half day is not the same as full day!
)
Yes, I realize the kids with special needs require more time and patience, but if you claim to care enough about the child's progress then take some freakin' responsibility and DO YOUR PART.
The best thing to do is to just grin and bear it, put your training to the test, and show 'em (the principal and your students alike) what you are really made of!
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