What would you do in my situation? "Teacher from hell" #2 or #3 activates my reptile brain. Or not.
By The Horse
@TheHorse (238388)
Walnut Creek, California
September 11, 2019 8:14pm CST
When I work with the toddlers (at my friend's preschool), a part of my job is to be there early when "Hadi" wakes up.
She wakes up from nap time early, and always in tears. My "job" is to take her outside, so she won't disturb the other napping children, aged 14-months through perhaps 34-months. She is around 28-months-old.
When Hadi sees me (I am on the floor in the main classroom doing push-ups or leg lifts, having taken a secret smoke break), her face lights up, and she runs over and hugs me.
I say, "Let's go outside!" and we play until the rest of the kids wake up. Sometimes we read books together. Sometimes we play in the sand together. It's always fun.
Today, one of the "teachers from hell" was in the napping room while I waited for the "early risers." I heard Hadi crying, and sat up, waiting to take her outside.
The door opened, and Hadi appeared, crying and disoriented. She saw me, ran over to me, and gave me a hug.
The teacher from hell said, "Don't be too nice to her. She was difficult when she woke up."
The reptile in me wanted to say something bad, or ask her if she has "units," but I said nothing and took the child outside.
Hadi and I read some books together, played "rolly catch," and finally made some cakes in the sand. We had our usual great time.
Should I tell my Director about this woman's "hatred" for children? How can a toddler's wakng up disoriented and grumpy be interpreted as "bad"?
For the record, some of the other teachers I worked with today were really loving and appropriate. Not all of the teachers I work with are "from hell."
But I am quietly amazed by some of the things I see.
Coda: The same "teacher from hell" criticized me today for letting a little girl try to climb UP a slide in her bare feet (she succeeded and felt great about herself).
I like to let kids test their abilities. But this teacher from hell said it was "against the rules."
I discussed it all with another (younger) teacher and she agreed that it's good to let kids see what they can do.
I really do wonder if the older teacher from hell has "units." I don't know if I can discuss "zone of proximal development" (Lev Vygotsky--basic ECE stuff) with her or not.
"Don't be too nice to her." That teacher can kiss my ass.
18 people like this
17 responses
@marguicha (230365)
• Chile
12 Sep 19
I would engage in a conversation with her using ALL the difficult words I know so that see learns what is is to be disoriented
3 people like this
@TheHorse (238388)
• Walnut Creek, California
12 Sep 19
@marguicha Somehow, eventually, I will let it "leak out" that I have a Site Director Permit, could be her boss one day, have published several scholarly articles on early childhood education, including a book chapter, and have a Ph.D. in psychology. But I'll wait until the timing is just right. Buwaahaahaa!
1 person likes this
@kareng (80243)
• United States
12 Sep 19
I would schedule a meeting with the Director because she is frightening to these children it sounds like. She is also putting labels on them and no child deserves that. It really sounds like she doesn't need to be working with small children at all. That would be my main concern. At least bring this to the Director's attention and after that, it is out of your hands. But you have done your part to correct the situation and protect the little children.
2 people like this
@Torunn (8606)
• Norway
14 Sep 19
Arm yourself with as many names as possible. Vygotsky, Piaget, all those names I can't remember (maybe not Hewitt, that's the physics didactics I think) and throw them at her/them.
This is what I do when the administration doesn't agree with me. "Listen, we're supposed to be a an organisation based on research, and as you all now, ...., as you can see cited by Hargreaves/shown by Hattie etc".
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8606)
• Norway
14 Sep 19
@TheHorse *sings loudly and probably out of tune* "You can do it, you can do it!"
I think they deserve it. Being cranky when you wake up should be allowed, and trying things (with and without shoes) is part of being human.
I don't allow my pupils to tie eachother up with ducttape, but that's mainly because I then have to buy more.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238388)
• Walnut Creek, California
14 Sep 19
@Torunn A, a fellow teacher of my own heart! Yes, duct tape gets expensive, and when they hang each other from the rafters by their feet using only duct tape (of course I have to help), I always worry that it will "let go," causing a bump on the head and tears.
One of my favorite activities is letting them pour motor oil into water so they can watch the oil float. On the occasion that they drink the whole thing, I warn them that they should stay near a "potty" because an explosion is forthcoming.
Would you like to hear some of the other "stupid things I do with kids due to being an absolute moron"?
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238388)
• Walnut Creek, California
14 Sep 19
Exactly! One that's on my mind is this: "But as Bell and Ainsworth clearly showed in their now classic--was it 1976?---study, soothing a crying infant leads to less, not more, crying in the next quarter. Their hypothesis was that a secure attachment, and a feeling of safety, leads to more rapid language development, and more mature communication of needs." I can see her staring at me with a blank face even as I type.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502886)
• Italy
13 Sep 19
@TheHorse Well you surely know that this could lead to "flat feet", but teacher cannot be sure it is safe, because if a kid has a fungus or a small wart all the others kids will get it. How do you know if a kid has a fungus? Sometimes it takes week before it is visible, but it is already contagious. I told to my niece all the time not to wall barefoot when she went to the pool, she did not listen, she needed 4 laser session (painful!) to get rid of the wart under her right foot.
1 person likes this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
12 Sep 19
Yes, she can. You did good with the child.
I know going up the slide like that is against the rules, but how many kids follow the rules? Not me. I always went up the slide that way, not with bare feet though. That's asking for blistered feet on those metal slides we had growing up. Not like the plastic ones they have today.1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238388)
• Walnut Creek, California
12 Sep 19
What's "cute" is that there's "learning" even there. If the slide is facing away from the sun, you can do it barefoot. If it's facing toward the sun, you burn your feet as you try to climb up barefoot. How can "teachers" not recognize this as a "teachable moment"?
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
12 Sep 19
@TheHorse
is that teacher the only bad one there? Would people sign a petition to get her out of the school and away from teaching or can you go higher up if petition does not work and get her suspended from teaching there and anywhere else? She sounds like she had no clue about the children or Hadi. Hadi must have been crying for a reason? What is her home life like? I see that that teacher is all about rules and not being creative. She is not a good teacher and needs to be gone.
1 person likes this
@rsa101 (41086)
• Philippines
12 Sep 19
Maybe she's just an old school type of a teacher... I think you are doing well in how you handle the kid from being grumpy when waking up. You may have a soothing effect on her that she feels relaxed and be in the mood when she see you. What school is that? They have a nap time along their study? I suspect that you are in some preschool?
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238388)
• Walnut Creek, California
13 Sep 19
@rsa101 Exactly! Loving adults are like "battery chargers" to preschool aged kids. The kids need a hug, or some lap time with a book, and then they're ready to roll. Mary D. Salter Ainsworth, the "Queen" of modern attachment theory, calls such adults "a safe base for exploration."
@BarBaraPrz (51839)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
12 Sep 19
Please explain this "units" business.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (51839)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
12 Sep 19
@TheHorse So why not just say classes?
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238388)
• Walnut Creek, California
13 Sep 19
@BarBaraPrz "Units" is the term ECE educators use. "Does she have her units?"
@DaddyEvil (174749)
• United States
14 Sep 19
Hmmm... that would certainly be annoying if that teacher finds things you do "bad" or against the rules (as long as no child is hurt, what difference does it make?)
And since when is being nice to a child against the rules? *shake my head*
Something really should be done about her.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (98157)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
12 Sep 19
I would certainly discuss it with the Director and see what he says. It is important for the children.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238388)
• Walnut Creek, California
12 Sep 19
It's a big school. And the children are doing well overall. The Director is a she, as is often the case at preschools. (I'm going to keep it quiet. This teacher from hell has no idea who I am. I have been a successful ECE teacher for decades and have published several scholarly articles in the field.) Buwaahaahaa!
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (98157)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
12 Sep 19
@TheHorse think of a good way to get at her on Halloween and send her the ghosts at Christmas
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238388)
• Walnut Creek, California
12 Sep 19
@RasmaSandra I played Marley's ghost in our 5th Grade Christmas Carol. I will (under my breath) warn her that "thee spirits" are going to visit her.
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (24119)
• United Kingdom
12 Sep 19
She sounds a right bundle of fun. I am glad that the child feels comfortable with you and she obviously appreciates it. Obviously she wants he wards to grow up in a robotic society where they are unable to express any individuality. Poor kids! Well done you for ignoring her. I would definitely have it out with her once all the kids have gone home. In a professional manner though!
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (136063)
• Marion, Ohio
12 Sep 19
I would try talking to someone about her. She is not good for the kids at all.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
12 Sep 19
I would most certainly tell the director, this has nothing to do with you, think of the children.
1 person likes this
@Michellekidwell (29953)
• Sonora, California
12 Sep 19
That woman shouldn’t be working with children if she has no patience witt them, teachers like that drive me nuts!
1 person likes this
