bad first job

[burgerbunz]

Hi everyone,
Just looking for words of wisdome I think. I just resigned from my first ever job in childcare. I have given it a week for my emotions to calm down, but i'm worried about whether i've made the right career choice. i loved study! I loved most of my prac experiences, the first was really hard, but I've been told that is normal for people new to the industry. The other 2 were terrific, and I'm yet to do my final prac, which is now eating away at my thoughts. I love working with children, the way they absorb knowledge, the excitement of melting ice and eating their favourite fruits for morning tea. I can't handle the management staff. I walked in and was told to go for it. No direction, no information...so I asked and received the most horrid of looks. Apparently I should know what to do. From there everything I did was criticized, the management team were all over me, my decisions to talk through an altercation with children who were trying to bite each other rather than send them to the naughty chair, allowing children to chose the boks THEY wanted to read at group time, going off on 'tangents' which i leant of as 'emergent curriculum' at school...not giving management a word for word description of my weekly activities, dot points are NOT acceptable. My lack of comunication skills...now I know I'm not easy to talk to sometimes, aren't we all?? I got on really well with the casuals and cert III staff, even the ECT's from other centres run by the same organisation, i found our management team REALLY hard to talk to-they would walk off on you while you were talking to them, stare at you when you asked a question, but not answer, contantly go on about people who go to uni being know it alls who have no place in childrens services, have this attitude not only towards staff, but children...if you don't ask the right question, you will not get an answer. 'Do we have more paper' the answer will be yes...and left at that...that child may not know to ask 'cani have more paper please'...why not model what they can ask rather than answer and walk off?? This is so similar to my first prac experience it is scary. I have gone over in my head a thousand times what I was doing wrong, and I still struggle to see it. How did I do so well in two centres and fail so miserably as soon as I was given a job of my own? Am i really difficult to communicate with, it's come up in one of my prac experiences that I need to improve, the second and third I was passed without even a comment in regard to it- apart from I got on well with all staff members...why isn't my planning up to standard, dot points save me time, and they get their point across- what book, what literacy focus, what numeracy focus, fine motor skills, art experience. This was acceptable for prac, and for the supervising teachers at ALL prac placements. How have I passed my course so well, and then been completely shot down in a real workplace? Is long day care like this everqhere, or have I just found a really crappy place to work- on a side note, i was told that this centre has had 6 ECT's in the past 2.5 years...while this made me feel slightly better, I'm still worried i'm not up to standard.

Amanda

[Lorina]

Hi Amanda!

! Some centres should not be operating due to the way they treat STAFF as well as the way they manage issues. To parents and children, some centres are very good however to the staff they fail miserably by having this control and authority. Management is there to guide and support staff working in their centre but not like this.

Unfortunately, I hear your issue too often so it may not be you but how centre management treats you. I feel that nowadays, educators are thrown into the deep end when getting into it, especially for those educators only starting out. They put you in the room and say "all yours" and that's it. You're on your own and then all this negativity comes saying you are doing this wrong and that wrong and that's not how it should be done when you're only implementing what you have been taught during placement.

I feel like a lot of negativity and criticism may come from jealousy of other educators/management working in the centre. All of a sudden, you have just started in the centre and you have already formed a close bond with the children and families and really making a difference within the room through different experiences, implementing what you think works best, doing things differently than before making a noticeable difference and those already working at the centre don't like it and start making complaints against you. It happens, yes it happens! It's mind boggling that mature woman working together can turn into a bunch of nasty school girls ganging up on others and causing trouble when someone new enters their "turf" but that's how some centres are! Especially for the new educators beginning! It's so ridiculous, isn't it! It can make work a living hell!

Try not to take it personally! Sometimes a centre won't click with you so you have no choice but to move on. Thankfully not all centres are miserable! You will find one that supports you! Don't give up, continue on! Trust your gut instinct!

,
Lorina

[Lorina]

Sorry when on a bit of a rant there! It gets me so frustrated when educators have to deal with issues like this. I get so many emails from educators who are facing similar problems to you and it makes me so mad, that you have to suffer through such emotional turmoil... Each email I read regarding problems like this, I can feel your pain and confusion and I wish I could do more to support all of you!

,
Lorina

[burgerbunz]

Thanks for that Lorina, just nice to think it's not all me i guess...i felt so rediculous, a woman in her mid 30's getting shity in the first few months of a career change- what does this do to teenagers entering the workforce- it has the potential to destroy someone. I'm taking a break for six months, finish my course (those horrid final 2 units that seem to take ten times as long as any other) and will then try again. I certainly don't want to end up somewhere like this again and it wont be forgotten any time soon. Been a big eye opener, i have experienced this in other industries just not in the same level as this- perhpas it's too many hormones all in one room...don't know...just really dissapointed with it all, when it all could have been so different-just two women is all it takes.

Amanda.

[Lorina]

I can understand how disappointing this has been for you! Working in early childhood is tough and I'm not just talking about dealing with the children or their families. It's the staff in your room, at your centre that makes it a challenge at times. We are all woman working together for long hours a day, there are bound to be fireworks at times. Although there is only so much you can take before emotions start creeping in and small issues get out of hand. Not all centres are like this! It also depends on the dynamics of the educators and the supporting staff as well. Take a break finish up your course and then get back into working...

You'll be alright!

,
Lorina

[Iris2]

I am going through a similar thing for about a year. I am glad that you had the courage to resign and I should probably also have this courage. I think one thing you should know is I don't think all services are like this. I hope you find a better job because it really is quite rewarding to work with children, especially in the long-term as you watch them develop or when they open up to you and you know they appreciate you working there.