Teaching is hard work.
Teaching Preschool is even harder. Let me share with you some bullet
points about why I believe this to be true.
- For many families, this is their first public school experience. Even if it's not, the teachers vary from year to year with the high rate of teacher turn-over.
- There are rules, policies, and expectations that need to be enforced for the safety, protection, and education of all.
- It's a learning curve for everyone; students, their families, the teachers, the school, the bus drivers, the custodians, the cooks, the school nurses, etc. Every child that walk through the school doors has their own uniqueness about them. EVERY.ONE.OF.THEM. Let that soak in for a second; 300-500 unique people all in one place, for 7 ½ to 8 hours each day.
Hear me out. We WANT
your kids in school. We look forward to seeing their smiling faces
each day. We look forward to the stories the share with us and their
bright, eager, ready-to-learn faces. Here's the thing, though; not
at the expense of the other children entrusted to our care each day.
That's where the policies and procedures come into play.
The school district and
it's board of education have put into place a huge notebook of
policies and procedures that make the day-to-day functioning of the
district's buildings as fair and as equitable as humanly possible.
It is the responsibility of the classroom teachers to, besides
teaching your children, enforce these policies. No ifs, and, or
buts. A great deal of time, effort, and discussion was put into
making these policies. They are not up for interpretation.
They are there for the safety and protection of the students.
Period.
So, if a parent
receives a call from the nurse's office, saying that their child is
running a fever, the correct response is, “I'll be right there.”
The policy says “fever/symptom free, without medication.” That
doesn't mean a parent can give the child a fever-reducer and send
them to school. That medication will wear off before the end of the
day, and the parent will receive a call to come and get the child.
It also doesn't mean, when you come to pick your child up, you ask if
they're sure they're sick. They are running a fever. They are going
home. It's the policy.
Here's where
communication comes into play. If the parent has a child who
typically runs a normal temperature higher than 98.6., tell
someone-the nurse or the teacher. If the child has an inhaler or
epi-pen at school, the teacher should know that, as well. If the
student has been on an antibiotic for an ear infection, strep, etc.,
let the teacher know. Teachers are not mind readers. Parents need
to communicate with their child's teacher, not post a rant on social
media.
Parents! You know your
child better than any teacher could ever hope to. However, you have
to communicate with the teacher so that he/she can be the best
teacher possible for your child. If your child has had a rough
night, tell the teacher. If the child is pretending to be sick so
they can come home, tell the teacher. If the child is struggling
with a peer, tell the teacher. Sometimes there are things we miss.
It's human nature.
Bottom line: We're all
on the same page, only wanting the best for each student in our
classroom. Teaching is hard. Not only do we teach the child, we
teach the parents, too. This is a partnership and will be for the
rest of the child's formal education. The sooner we all work
together as a team, the better it will be for all of us.
