Monday, January 5, 2009

Choosing The Right Preschool

My little one has been attending preschool since the beginning of September. I enrolled her in this particular preschool because it has a great educational record. This school district is known to be one of the best in the county I live in. I'm a new mom and had no idea what to expect out of the preschool experience. There's been problems since the very moment I enrolled my little one for class. The class that I originally picked had a wonderful teacher. I really liked her and wanted my daughter to be in her class. About a week before class the school secretary calls me and tells me the class that I registered for was full and they would have to transfer my little one to another teacher. My husband I meet the teacher a few days before class and both had bad feelings about her. To sum a long story up. My daughter became very scared of this teacher and wouldn't participate in class. The teacher kept insisting that something was wrong with my little one. I kept insisting that she was shy. This went on for several months. The teacher has been rude to me and my husband several times and I just didn't know what to think about all this craziness. It finally occurred to me that if the teacher was being rude to the parents then how was she treating these 4 year old children. A few weeks before Christmas a parent told me about the sand jar. It's a tactic used to discipline the children. The kids are forced to sit on the floor and hold a sand jar. Of course all the other kids are watching. It just seemed like a humiliation tactic and in my eyes a form of abuse. The week before Christmas was the last straw for me. The teacher again was rude to me. So rude in fact that started to cry. If you know me, I'm just not the type of person to cry over spilled milk. I was so angry that I decided this was my daughters last day of school. So, I took her out and that very same day enrolled in a new preschool. There are so many other things that happened to lead me to make this decision. From the beginning my little one has been terrified to go to class. At first I just thought it was because it was a new experience, but her fear kept up for the entire time at this school. Each day when I would drop her off she would ask me, Are you going to wait in the hallway? Of course I said yes. The worst part was when I would pick her up after class she would act so angry. I didn't know what was going on. Why was she so angry? Who was this child? After I took her out of the bad school I decided to ask her a few questions about the teacher. Are you scared of the teacher? Yes, Why are you scared of the teacher? Because she screams all the time. What's the sand jar? You get it when you are bad? Have you gotten the sand jar? No. I've come to the conclusion that my little one was so quite, shy and wouldn't participate in class because she was afraid of getting the sand jar or getting yelled at. Gosh, I feel terrible that this had to be her first experience with education. I wish I had followed my motherly intuition in the beginning.

Today I dropped my little one off at her new school. Oh my gosh, what a huge difference in the teaching environment. The teacher is just delightful, friendly and so not a screamer. The parents are welcome to come in the class and say good bye to their kids. I wasn't allowed to do that in the other school. There was always a do not enter note on her classroom door. Aren't all teachers suppose to have an open door policy? My little one was so brave this morning. She was happy to go to her new school. She didn't even shed a tear. I'm so proud of her for being a brave little girl. She didn't even ask me to wait in the hallway this time. The first day of school is always so hard. I remember those days. I'm hoping this bad experience can be forgotten about and didn't leave any permanent scares. The hubby called the old school today to get a refund. The cost was about $1,000 for 9 months of preschool. No, preschool isn't free these days. My mom helped me pay for most of the tuition since times are hard financially for me and the hubby right now. The school is telling my hubby that they aren't sure they can refund our money. Gosh, does this drama ever end. I'm so tired of dealing with these crazy people. Though I'm just delighted that I found my little one an educational environment that she will feel happy and safe in. I asked her last night if she was going to be scared going to her new school. Her answer: No silly, there's no sand jar. I'm so happy that I made this huge decision to pull her out of that terrible preschool class. I've learned so much from this experience. Sometimes young children can't tell you how they feel. Instead they express it in their actions and emotions. Just like her acting out in anger. As parents I guess we need to pay attention to these warning signals. It really helped me to understand what was going on by observing her behavior and just sitting down and talking to my four year old. I feel this new school will be a positive step in her education.

15 comments:

  1. Wow! I am so sorry that your little one (and you) had to go through all of that! With the refund issue, I would make sure the school knows what kind of teacher they hired and then threaten to talk to the other parents in the class if a refund is not granted! I would almost bet my eye teeth they will change their tune very quickly! BTW, this makes me want to keep Sadie home until she is 40! LOL!

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  2. Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry that your little one had such a hard time in the first preschool. That place sounds absolutely terrible. I'm so happy, though, that she loves her new school. That is going to help so much! You have such a sweet girl!

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  3. Sounds to me like the first teacher your daughter had should definitely NOT be a teacher, of any kind! There is absolutely no excuse for her screaming or yelling and the "sand jar" is a form of abuse causing humiliation. She should be reported.

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  4. You completely did the right thing. No question about it. I'm happy for your daughter.

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  5. Oh your poor little one. Your story just broke my heart. I hope she enjoys her new school!!

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  6. Too bad to have such a bad experience but I think your daughter will recover quickly in the new environment! It is so hard to find the right school for your kids. New year, new people, good things!

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  7. I'm happy to hear you found a good school! It is so important at that age, and stage of learning :)

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  8. I am so sorry that your little one had to go through this- and in preschool to boot! I was a teacher at the middle school level for many years and can't imagine tactics like that being used in a middle school environment, let alone in a preschool. I am glad that you found a school that works for her....who knew preschool would be so stressful? It's supposed to be a fun time! I am glad that you finally found that fun for her!

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  9. I'm so glad you were able to find a better school. I have put two through this process and have two more to put through. I am hoping to find a better school for my two youngest.

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  10. So glad she's having a better time at her new school!

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  11. I want to hear the rest how was she when you picked here up. I think you will love her new school and so will you!

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  12. My son was very shy in pre-school, and pretty much still is. You will find that you need to do the same thing you just did, when your daughter starts elementary school. I've had to, and it makes a difference!

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  13. Oh, I'm so sorry your daughter had to have a traumatic introduction to preschool! I was lucky that I didn't have to put her in preschool and decided to keep her home and wait until Kindergarten - the preschools around here are more like glorified babysitting institutions... Apparently, in this 'small town area', not having your child in preschool is looked down on, but I didn't care, I wasn't going to subject her to teachers like the one your daughter experienced. At least the Kindergarten teacher she has is absolutely wonderful, and she is having a great time! Apparently my not putting her in preschool didn't adversely affect her, as I've been told that she's reading and writing at 3rd grade level. ;)

    You were very smart to follow your instincts and pull her out of that school and find a better one for her - you should absolutely be able to get a refund, and that teacher should be reported. Take it to the Attorney General's office if you need to get results, it's amazing how just telling them you're going to do that makes them change their tune about refunds. ;)

    Bottom line is you did the right thing, you were looking out for your daughter's best interest - it's so great that the new school is something she's truly enjoying! :)

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  14. Glad to hear the switch is a more positive experience for you. I used to work in child care, as well as am a parent of children who have been and are in child care, and I can relate to those bad vibes.

    And honestly, for that first teacher to be rude to you in such a manner is such bull! You are paying her paycheck. That is just wrong!

    Good luck on the new school. Sounds like your little one enjoys it!

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  15. Hi Michelle-

    Fortunately for me, I've had a great experience with the preschool that my daughter is in. A BIG factor in choosing this school was that there was an 'open door policy'. I could literally walk in, at any time, and view the classroom through a window.
    And, if any issues do come up..don't be afraid to request a 'sit down' with the director, or who ever is in charge.
    Now, when my son entered kindergarten..I was 'shell shocked'. All public schools are in a state of permanent 'lock down'. I hated it..but have learned to adjust.

    Love your blog and hope you can check out mine too!

    Lisa

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