I have had my fair share of conflicts
in my professional and personal life. I would like to discuss a conflict I am
having with my director. I have had many with her and the one I want to discuss
is happening currently.
At my school, my new class starts
August, 18. I work in the baby room with one other teacher and right now my 7 “babies”
have turned into toddlers because is it the end of the school year. They are 13-19
months, walking everywhere and getting into everything. Our ratio is 4 babies
to 1 teacher and with 7 kids we have 1 space open. My new class will be brand
new babies in the age range of 2 months to 6 months. I have one more week (next
week) with my current class of toddlers and then our end of the year party will
be next Friday. My director told me that one of my new babies will be coming to
my room a week early because her mother needs to go back to work and she cannot
wait until August 18th. This baby is 3 months old. This stresses me
out because I foresee numerous possible problems. How am I going to keep the
toddlers off of this delicate baby? Will each child still be able to have their
needs met with this new baby? Will the baby be able to sleep with so much noise
in the classroom a large majority of the day? How can we go outside and play
like we do everyday? The list could go on. I expressed these to the director
and she told me that it will work out fine and if I have any issues during the
week to come to her. She said it is only for a week and 2 days and it should not
be that bad. She has helped me pull out new toys, a swing, and a bouncer. I
feel as if she has only deflected the issue and not addressed it to my
satisfaction. I want a third teacher in my room but she does not want to pay
for that to help me and my co-teacher. I feel that all she cares about is
bringing money into the preschool without considering quality or the teacher’s
opinions. I do not believe this goes against Alabama DHR standards. On rare
occasions I have heard of schools that use this style of teaching with having
children of all ages on one room instead of the widely used style with children
of the same age in one room. So, I guess she is not breaking a law or standard,
I am just flustered and dread next week and wish my director would not put me
in these situations. So far I have tried to use Magna Gerber’s 3R’s to
communicate effectively with my director. I have spoken in a respectful way and
in a way that expresses my faith in her decisions.
Is it good for me to push my
frustrations down and take this challenge on? Do I need to be more understanding
of this parent and my director’s decision? How do I keep this incident from harming my
critical and sometimes nice relationship with my boss? Thank you for any
advice!
Jalice,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely feel your frustrations. I have been where you are in my baby room and I can tell you that it did work out. In my infant class last year I had two three month olds and 5 other children that were 10 months- 22 months. It was challenging at first, but during the times that the babies were asleep which was most of the time, I surrounded their cribs with white noise. Something else that might help is talking to the teachers of the class that your your current students will be moving to and see if you can plan time for them to visit throughout the week. You will be surprised at how the toddlers are drawn to the babies. I would let my older toddlers help me care for the babies and it was a wonderful experience. My new school year starts tomorrow and for the first time in 3 years I will have an infant room. The youngest child is 3 months and the oldest will be 9 months. I am looking forward to this nice change. I did not know you were an infant teacher too! I would love to talk with you about your experiences with infants.
Jalice,
ReplyDeleteI have been in your position as a teacher as well as your Director, which I am now. In this situation I have been able to move up one of the oldest children to the new classroom early. I have always had parents that feel the reason why their child may be acting out in the classroom is because he/she is bored and needs to be with the older children and stimulated more. In this case I would be able to use this parent's feelings in a positive way and be able to move up one or more children to the new classroom if those classrooms numbers can accommodate. This way I have parent's that are happy about their child's move and the teachers in the baby classroom can focus more on the smaller baby so they are safe and secure with mobile toddlers that may be louder than the baby is used to. I would also allow those the children that moved up to visit for the old classroom's party to visit friends they just moved away from. At least it is not for a extended period of time and if needed you would make it work and do what's best for all the children involved. I hope everything works out for you and there is a bright light for everyone.
Hi Jalice,
ReplyDeleteI can understand your frustration especially when we are put out of our comfort zone. My suggestion would be to look at it like a challenge and since your director said to let her know if you need help I would do so. This class has taught me to breath first when things seem to be going the wrong way. By doing this I can allow myself to calm down and approach in a more calmer manner. I hope everything works out.
Crystal