I worked part time at an expensive daycare facility in my area. During my time there, I witnessed many things that I cringed at as a mother, knowing parents were leaving their children in the care of the facility with no clue as to what happened while they were gone. In fact, there were only select teachers I actually enjoyed working with, because they were good teachers. A select number of good teachers. A number too low for an entire school to have.
I signed a contract at the beginning of my employment that prohibited me from speaking negatively about any teacher, classroom or the school without the possibility of getting fired. I don't work there anymore, though, and I think parents deserve to know what to look out for and what they can do about it.
The biggest cringe-worthy issue for me was some of the teachers that were allowed to continue in a classroom. Children in a daycare/preschool are below the age of six. They are still learning how to handle their thoughts/emotions and how to behave. In fact, part of our job as teachers is to do just that -- teach. To show the children which behaviors are appropriate, which aren't and how to deal with their feelings in a way they can understand. This takes patience. A ton of it, because these kids don't get it the first, third, twentieth or sometimes even fiftieth time you tell them something. Sometimes, it takes working on the same behavioral modification their entire stay in your classroom to get it down. Some teachers seemed to forget this sometimes.
One teacher yelled at the children, often. It seemed as if the children were expected to follow all of the rules all of the time or else get yelled at. Now, there is a difference between yelling and "momma-voicing." If you're a parent, you get it. This was legitimate yelling. This same teacher corralled an ADHD and behaviorally challenged child into a very small fenced-in area during the only time he had outside (You know, the time children get rid of their energy. The time most important to high energy children), then became angry when she got hit, bit, etc. Granted, this child was not playing in an appropriate manner, caging him in like an animal is also not handling the situation in an appropriate manner. As a parent, I would be furious if I walked in on this happening. Another little girl was physically restrained during one of her fits. Two behaviorally challenged children who made it through many classrooms in the same school pulled out after their experiences in her particular classroom. This woman is now working in one of our public school systems. I know, scary, right?
Another teacher, we'll call her Marissa, was not only careless around the kiddos, but awful to other teachers as well. True story: I enrolled my daughter in a classroom with one of the teachers that I trusted. However, someone has to come in to maintain required ratios while the head teachers go on break. One day, Marissa was running a break in my daughter's room and while doing so, "talking bad about me" (as juvenile as that is) to the other teacher in the room. This came to no surprise as we had feuded from the moment I started. Working in a childcare facility is like going back to high school, but while responsible for other children. It's ridiculous. The surprise came when I was working in my daughter's room later the same day (I got the fun job of changing diapers), my daughter walks up to me and asks, "Mommy, are you a b*tch?" Naturally, she got in trouble for saying a bad word. That is until the other teacher in the room informed me she was just repeating what she had heard Marissa say earlier. This was not the first instance Marissa used foul language around the children, nor was it the first instance she targeted one specific teacher.
The scariest part about these teachers is how great they were with the parents and administrators. If I were a parent that only saw the carefully constructed ruse they created, I'd probably think they were great teachers, as many parents did. Administrators turn a blind eye to some of these instances in order to prevent losing an employee that they favor. So what do you do as a parent to prevent this? Honestly, stop by the school randomly and multiple times. Pick the time in the day that is the most structured and the children have the most rules to follow. Stand behind the door for a little bit and just observe how the teachers and students react. You may be surprised to see what the teachers will do when they don't think anyone is watching.
The food was also atrocious for how much money parents were spending to send their children there. Many teachers refused to eat the food provided, simply because of how gross it was. It hardly ever followed the menu provided and was often minimal at best (Luckily, new management took over the food aspect and vastly improved it just before I left). A tortilla shell and a square of cheddar cheese were one particular snack choice that always annoyed me when expected to provide that as a means to tide the children over until they went home for dinner. Drop in on lunch/snack time periodically and see what is actually being served to your children. If you can't get off work to do this enough, just take the safe road and pack your child's lunch. Remember to add something from every food group!
If you see something you dislike or disagree with the way something is being handled, complain. Money speaks. There was a distinct difference between the parents who knew the power of the money they spent and the parents who didn't: The parents who knew got what they wanted. One boy got moved up early to an awesome classroom because the parents complained enough about his previous teacher. Others would be specifically catered to in order to avoid the hell that would inevitably be unleashed if they weren't. Now, that's not to say you should become the parent every teacher dreads dealing with, but you should definitely be unafraid to demand exactly what is best for your child.
Disclaimer: The picture used in the Cover Photo is not from the daycare I've had experiences with. I've never even been to Florida. They just have a really wicked looking Infant room.
