Overwhelmed, should I give up my position?

[fchaudari76]

Stop thinking you are some god with education

I don't and I am sure no one on here thinks they are.... even the qualified teachers. We just try and do the best we can with the children who are in our care.

go do your bachelor and teach at Kinder like the title it holds Kindergarten TEACHER

I am doing my Bachelor of Education and regardless just because Group Leaders are not called Teachers it does not mean we do not teach the child anything.

Im sorry to tell you but your not creating Einstein just look after the babies and children like their supposed to be.

My aim is not to create Einstein but just give the children some skills and help them develop best they can.
If we were just "babysitters" the EYLF wouldn't have been created neither would we be getting programming and planning time to make sure that we observed the child and help them further skills they were learning, be it at home or childcare. We wouldn't have paperwork to fill out and learning stories to write, portfolios to prepare.

Not every one goes to day care so stop thinking you are producing these marvelous products because you will never do it better than a childs own parent

No not everyone goes to day care, but plenty of children do and plenty of parents do not have the time to teach their children certain things.
I have seen plenty of children start childcare at age 3 or 4 and they cannot even name basic primary colours, cannot sit on a chair properly to eat... so sorry but some parents do not do it "better" on the other hand I have seen some children enter childcare and do know these things.
I and I am sure many others here can spot the children whose parents do spend time with them and do things with them within 10 mins of them walking into our classrooms.
If all parents could do it better I wonder why we have so many parents asking our advice what to do with their child, how they can help them more at home etc etc

I do not know why you are so hostile and frankly it saddens me as you obviously have no pride in being an Early Childhood educator if you just think you are a glorified babysitter.

[justathought]

Iam hostile because all this paper work interfered with what is really important the children the paper work took over and I found I was spending more time with paper work than with the children my point is and always will be, "it is unnecessary" Sure there may be some parents out there who arnt perfect who may need some guidance from professional councilors and some intervention, but at the same time why are we having teenagers causing trouble in the street tying up other teenagers to trees and beating them up 10 on 1 is it because their parents have been out working earning money leaving children at home to fend for them selves.
You seriously need to check your diploma it only says Diploma of childrens services nothing about being an educator and thats why you dont get teachers wages.
Good luck with your studies I hope you do well so you can sit on your high horse with your degree and carry on about the EYLF as much as you like because thats when it will matter like I have always said at Kinder where children learn to get ready for school.

[fchaudari76]

justathought - sorry but you just seem to be an angry, hostile and aggressive person
I just want to know what do you do in your room with the children? You have made it clear that unless you have a degree you cannot teach ... so I am taking it you teach the children under your care nothing?
I just cannot understand that you think that ALL a child needs to know happens at the K
indy level and that is all.
Is there any harm in teaching a child colours and shapes and how to hold a pencil and use scissors etc before they get to the Kindy level?

What are you meant to do in a babies/toddlers/pre-Kindy room in childcare if not guide and teach the children and give them skills that they will use when they go up to Kindy and then onto school?

I have had as you say TEACHERS i.e 4 year Bachelor of Education qualified registered teachers (and some even with Masters degree in Education) come to me in my pre-kindy class and telling me what kind of things they want the children to know by the time they come into the Kindy class to them so I can only assume that they also prefer to have children come to them armed with as many skills and as much knowledge as possible so they can build on those foundations and get them ready to go school.

Sure paperwork takes away from our time with the children but if you organise things properly and time manage you can get it done. It's stressful and some days it takes a lot out of you but it can be done. I have worked in many places where most people after a while have managed to get a routine going where all the paperwork is done on time and they do not have to take any of it home and it is done without neglecting the children.

I do not get teachers wages but I get not much less than what my Kindy TEACHER earns...just because I don't earn her wages doesn't mean I am not qualified to teach anything to children. And honestly people have degrees but they do not have experience that comes with being in a room with children for years and years, thats why even teachers evolve and become better at their jobs after they enter the workplace.

If a Diploma wasn't worth anything teaching wise then why do universities give you over 1 years worth of credit if you have one and go on to do a degree?

I think you need to leave the workplace if paperwork is stressing you out that much that you feel the need to be so hostile towards others and have no regard for any one else's opinions.

As for your examples of the teenagers, sorry but I do not even know what point you are trying to make. It is totally off point to what we were discussing. All i said previously was some parents do not spend time with their kids and teach them things....im not talking about parents needing professional counselling or intervention...i was merely saying some parents do not sit and do art and craft at home with their kids, they don't teach them colours or shapes etc.
You are just arguing for the sake of arguing.

Anyway you have your opinion on the matter and I have mine and we obviously do not see eye to eye and both feel strongly about our own points of view.
So lets agree to disagree and leave it at that.

I would like to say that in future refrain from saying things like

I hope you do well so you can sit on your high horse with your degree

it is just plain rude .... if you are going to address people & issues on these forums at least do so politely

[cathiek]

Hi Copperclouds
It is great that you found this site. We are all in the same boat and it was wonderful that you found a place to vent (we all need one) & find out you are not alone. Some days you will find you just have to not worry about your assignments etc and just re-charge the batteries after work.
I have 4 children with special needs in my room and feel like some days I achieve nothing, but when you look back you will see that, with your help, these children are making positive steps and learning new skills all the time. Please be assured you are not alone, and those days when the children snuggle up to you for a story or show you a special picture they have done, makes it all worthwhile.
Some days I go home with my eyeballs hanging out of my head, but would not swap what I do for anything.
Hang in there - the good days outweigh the stressful ones.
PS: Coffee helps LOL
Cathiek

[justathought]

you seem to keep missing my point the teaching is called common sense I have had many people come in to contact with my own children and are able to connect with them and teach them something and they know nothing about childrens development, these people are my childrens grandparents, aunties uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters, neighbours, the shop keeper, the posty just to name a few the list goes on.
why do you think that filling out all this paper work is necessary.
With common sense we would only have people in the work place who could interact positively and had meaningful interactions from what Ive seen sometimes centers have to take staff because they have no other choice even if the staff are really bad.
Not every one has the luxury of childcare like I see continuously parents dropping their kids off for convenience and some are left there for 10 hours.
Iam very good at what I do and have alot of respect from parents and some even visit my home regularly so dont worry all my agression is only focused on the unnecessary paper work.
I know evedence could be shown that you were meeting childrens needs through common sense if you were actually doing things it would be obvious and if you wernt that would be obvious too.
I also see continuously paper work being made up to make it look like things link.
And I continuously see things being rushed in childrens routines so things can be packed up.
Dont you think the method that is being used may leave some unfortunate children who dont get to experiece child care get left behind creating another gap in society. I dont know if you read the article to that link but it says children do just the same when they reach kinder or prep cant remember which whether they attended day care or not.
So whats all the fuss about?
Im not saying dont do anything havnt you heard the proverb "You learn something everyday"

[fchaudari76]

I do not dispute that a range of people can teach and positively influence a child but we cannot compare what they do to what we do. We are given and taught about child development and how to give a child a more well rounded early childhood experience making sure that they are learning the correct skills for their age etc
I do my job and within my job I try and ensure I expose my kids to a range of people who can share the type of things you are talking about with them.

I never said filling out paper work was necessary. I did not make the laws, rules & regulations. They are there and I have to follow and abide by those rules as you do. I just have taken it in my stride and don't let it get in the way of my performance as an early childhood educator/carer/teacher ... whatever you wish to call me.
Getting all aggressive is going to change what? Not much so you can either find a way to make it work for you or give up ... because I am pretty darn sure the paperwork isn't going to disappear and if anything as years go on we will probably have more paperwork.

Unfortunately it seems you have worked in places where the paperwork takes precedence and people are not very good at what they do, and yep there are plenty of places like that.

You can change things, I have taken over rooms that have been shocking and in a few weeks turned it around, made it about the children and not about the staff & paperwork & work politics etc .... set an example, set the bar

Ive been in centres (doing placements) and left them shocked and absolutely appalled with the staff and running and I have made phone calls to report it because I cannot just sit by and watch children being deprived of the best care/experiences that they could have during their childcare experience.

Maybe the new softwares are the way to go, everything is done easily on a computer and it links things up etc so you are not wasting heaps of time.