This week was a rough one at work for me. I have several co-workers who are there just for their paychecks and they prefer to gossip with each other rather than watch and care for the children in their care. One day this week, a child fell from the slide (he was climbing up instead of going down). The teacher who was by the slide did not see him climbing up nor did she see him fall. She had been on her phone texting.
I ran over to help the child and her response to me was, "He should have known better. I tell him all the time but he's obviously got a hearing problem." Her statement infuriated me. We are never ever supposed to judge or criticize a child in their presence as they have rights and like all humans deserve to be treated with respect. I picked the child up and made a mental not to talk with my co-worker later during lunch away from everyone.
When we were talking, I told her that what she said and did was not only rude and wrong, but also a prejudice against the child. The child is a new student and doesn't speak English very well. he is learning. Obviously this makes remembering rules difficult. She was not concerned with what she said. She didn't see her comments as being biased or prejudicial. She is a person whose mind I cannot change, however, I can let my Director know about her violating the child's rights as this is a violation of Title 22 under which we are licensed So I let my Director know and now it is in her hands.
Wow Kim, I have some of those "there for just a paycheck" that works for me. As a Campus Director it is extremely for me to monitor all of my teachers and ensure that they are doing what they are supposed to do. I applaud you for going to your director. I tell my staff all the time that if you notice someone is doing the wrong thing and you don't say anything, then you are just as guilty. The teacher texting on the the phone could have escalated to an urgent issue for lack of supervision and it was the child's fault for not listening??? Wrong answer! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Kim,
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I think that playing the blame game comes so easily to far too many people. I sometimes wonder if people do it to try to cover up their own errors out of embarrassment? You are absolutely right, the teacher should never have been on her cell phone in the first place. I think it took a lot of guts on your part to have tried to speak to your colleague. If nothing else, I'm sure she'll be more careful in the future. Your school/center is very fortunate to have someone as dedicated and committed to the well-being of the children. It is also very unfortunate that people work for paychecks and not because they want to make a positive difference in people's lives, particularly in our line of work. Keep up the good fight.
Kim - I applaud you for doing the right thing. You addressed the issue with your co-worker first and then with your Director. Children's safety is our upmost concern, and she had a total disregard for it by texting while supervising children. You were correct in also addressing the language barrier and the need to reiterate rules to this child. Unfortunately, she was unwilling to listen to the very sound advice from a caring co-worker.
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