We actually ended up getting a full-time spot at the daycare we wanted, so Monday was Karma’s first day at her new daycare. BD got a good report when he picked her up the first couple of days, but today when I picked her up, that’s not what I got. One of her teachers had a whole list of concerns about Karma’s behavior. Apparently, and unbeknownst to me, this had been a very difficult week. Karma acted out a lot all week and today was my first day hearing about it. The obvious lack of communication throughout the week, really upset me. The other thing that really upset me is that this teacher told me what she observed was a “lack of maturity” on Karma’s part. The bulk of the misbehaving was Karma’s failure to listen to her teachers, and hitting the other kids. These are things kids do at pretty much every grade-level. Karma is 3 so I’m not sure at what level of “maturity” Karma is supposed to have in order for her listening-skills and self control to be at 100%. The way she misbehaved was bad and of course I’m going to be on her about behaving better, but her misbehaving was not uncharacteristic at all of how a child of any age may act when they’re introduced to a new environment. I think this was all missed in the teacher’s diagnosis of the situation. The teacher wasn’t rude and was actually trying to be really sensitive in her approach with me. However, I could have sworn she was telling me I was dying of cancer and it was going to kill me tomorrow. She really seemed to be at her wit’s end, as she had witnessed my daughter being “out of control” for most of the 40 hours. She said she thought they had done a little above and beyond what they should have to help Karma adjust in her first week. Just writing that irks me. It is a teacher’s job to be persistent in learning how to manage her students. Plus, it’s only been a week. I have a huge feeling that she may have exaggerated a bit in her assessment of my child’s behavior just because it has interrupted the status quo, and she really doesn’t like that. High up on her list was that Karma distracts the other kids in their structured setting. One would think that might happen with a new child until that child becomes accustomed to how things are done. So, I’m going to talk to the director and to the teacher again on Monday, and give that teacher a little time to eat her words.
Girl I read this blog all the time- so I figured I should finally leave a comment. Before I address the topic of this post let me say I truly respect and admire how open and honest you are about your life and your experiences. It’s so honest without being tacky– and you definitely could of went tacky on some of these posts…
Now onto this– I feel like I can speak on this because my mom and aunt own and operate a daycare together. Any and EVERYtime a new child comes in there is an adjustment period whether the child is five months or five years old. It always takes additional effort to incorporate a new person to an environment. And observing my mom with the newbie I know it’s frustrating but what I’ve always heard her say to myself and the parents is: “They’ll learn.”
Karma will get there. It’s only the first week. Not saying that the teacher shouldn’t have addressed her concerns with you but at the same time the tone of encouragement seemed to be lacking. So I’LL let you know she’ll be fine. Like you said a mature three is kind of an oxymoron. She needs time to not only learn the new rules and regulations but also feel comfortable in that environment. She’ll get it.
Thanks for reading and commenting Veronica. The feedback is really appreciated. To write my experiences feels one way, sometimes I when I re-read, I wonder if I could have more tactfully said something or if it was just tactless to say anything in the first place.
I worked in one of Karma’s daycares in Columbia for a while particularly with 2-5 year olds so I know exactly how they can be. I also know that even some of the smallest changes in a child’s little world can be a big deal for them. You’re exactly right. The tone of encouragement really was not there. So even though I knew better, there was no feeling of reassurance on her end.
[...] at the plant, meaning he more than likely lives nowhere close. That lack of diversity, along with my initial feelings of Karma being stereotyped, and the lack of cooperation I was getting from Karma’s teacher in helping her read on a more [...]