****I am not a teacher. For those of you who are, I'm sure your hands are tied. Maybe I'm wrong. Tell me why.***
As some of you know I volunteer at my youngest's pre-school on Wednesdays. It is a public state-run pre-school, NOT a Waldorf School. (I need the speech therapy there ok?)
I know there are time limits and specific curriculum to be taught for each grade. I know that teachers have the best interests of children at heart. They would not be there day after day getting paid total shit salaries if they did not.
That being said......
The teachers are killing my son's and his classmates imaginations!!
I'll give an example and wait for any responses from the real experts- you guys.
There was a new little girl in class today. The main teacher was in her office doing the endless paperwork of a state run program with many underprivileged children. The second in command was drinking her coffee in the one patch of sunlight on the playground, talking with the other "parent helper". The kids were EVERYWHERE! Screaming, crashing into each other on the bikes, throwing pine needles clumped together with frost at each other- pretty scary stuff for a shy three year old pried from her mother's leg just minutes before. NO ONE approached her or introduced her to anyone. She was standing alone in the middle of the sand box.
When I came up to her, she just shivered in her pink camouflage jacket and rubber boots. I asked her to come stand in the sun with me to get warmed up. She came gladly.
I then introduced her to "Kyle" who is a genius about cars and monopolizes the blue "sedan" of the play yard. I showed her the red convertible "sports car" of the play yard. I showed Kyle how much this new little girl, "Holly" loved cars too. They played and laughed for the rest of the recess.
Kyle knows about gages, registration stickers, what kind of engine goes in what car, it blows me away, he just turned 4. He came up and said he wanted to wash his car, could he have a bucket with a brush. I had just seen those very things in the supply closet. I said sure, I'll get it for you. After handing him the bucket he asked for water. I told him it was too cold but that we could PRETEND there was water in the bucket. Wow! What an idea! It took him a while to grasp the concept. He was happy for about 5 minutes. He and Holly were engrossed. The second in command gets in my face. "Did you give them those!" she points. I said "Yes."
"Well, they can't have them that is a summertime activity."
I told her there was PRETEND water in the bucket, that it was ok.
"No, it's not. We can't have this! There shouldn't be water in the bucket."
I said again it is PRETEND water it is ok.
"Well I don't want them to have ANY kind of water."
She walked up to Kyle and told him there was no water in the bucket this was not a sanctioned wintertime activity, took the bucket and brush and walked away.
She then took me aside and said,
"CaMomma, we just can't have this type of behavior, if the other kids had seen that, they would have wanted to pretend too. Everyone would have wanted to do it and we just can't have that."
I ask.. why not?
6 comments:
That is really freakin ridiculous!
I am a teacher, and I struggle constantly with the fact that we turn all our kiddos into total conformists. I know that as adults, we have to conform to certain standards to hold down certain jobs, blah blah blah, all that. I get that. And as a teacher, I surely don't want kids going crazy all over the room because I know there has to be a certain degree of conforming so that all the students are able to learn.
That being said, I still struggle. I try my absolute hardest to give the kids a routine so that things can run smoothly enough for everyone to learn, while still trying to embrace their uniqueness and individuality. It is very difficult even on the easiest of days, but I think it's important.
In the situation you talked about, I cannot for the life of me imagine why she needed to squash the pretend water deal. The only thing I can think of is that she is a major control freak.
WTF? I am speechless...simply speechless. I must have had that teacher because I can't even pretend to be anything else.
That really roasts my nuggets.
OMG!!! I don't think I have anything more to say. OMG!!!
Unbelievable!!! Please email me the name so I know not to let Ivan go there!! What am I going to do about Preschool when the time comes. That's it... We're opening up our own daycare, you and me. Deal???
OMG! OMG! WTF???? This is a school? This is a teacher? At some level she may have the kids' interests at heart, but somebody somewhere in that school district has forgotten the spirit of the law for the the letter of the law. Honestly.
Sad sad sad...
Post a Comment