My 3 yr son's teacher sent home this note, and it's crazy

[dylanrowe1]

check this out. This is terrible coming from an educator right?

Note

No punctuation. Terrible organization and thought process. Also for this fall festival basket, is she really asking for hothands? like the chemical handwarmers?

I'm not crazy for being concerned about this right? This is from my son's teacher. Did she graduate high school? how is this ok to send out to parents? If she hadn't printed it in huge font she could have fit it on one page and wouldn't have had to staple it together. How is her decision making process in general if she thinks this is ok? So many questions.

So I send my son to a new school in september and we have Hailey and C. C is ok, but I don't like Hailey. She never tells me anything thats going on, or how his day was. She only scolds me when he was bad "Your son was out of control today" no plan or anything. I'm not sure how to respond to it. I know my son is more challenging than most, but I think it's within the normal range of 3 year old boy behavior. There doesn't seem to be any structured activity. just free play most of the time, which is just asking for trouble with my kid. They haven't sent home any art projects until this last week. Last week things looked improved. I got some art projects home and there was a new teacher there. Julie. Julie is an older experienced daycare lady who is awesome. We had a great conversation, the first one I've had! It turns out C left and Julie came in and made some changes. Now there will be worksheet time and art time and scheduled bathroom breaks. Apparently there have been tons of accidents because they weren't taking the kids to the bathroom often enough. My kid is pee trained thank goodness and had no accidents. Julie agrees my kid is a challenge but just needs structure and it's nothing she can't handle. That's all I want. But Julie is just a temp and will be gone soon. And then I get this note home on friday.

I'm thinking of sending my kid to a different school over this.
I would have left already from previous issues, but there is a school trip to the pumpkin patch on that seems fun and I already paid my 15 dollars. Plus I didn't want to be rash and felt like everyone needed time to adjust. What do y'all think about this situation?

Update: in case anyone cares, i emailed the director on Monday. She knew about the letter Sunday and said it should have been pre approved and she would have never approved it. I am pulling my son out, and his last day is the 28th so I’ll still be able to go on the farm trip. Fortunately I live in an area where it’s not too hard to find a preschool. I already took a tour of this one place which seems good and I’ll apply. Also the director told me that Julie is only there Tuesday and Wednesdays

 

[theobvioushero]

@dylanrowe1 Oh that's bad, like really bad. Not only is this person presenting herself like this as a professional, but as a teacher??? In any setting this is not good. I'd pull my kid out and if there is a director and owner I'd show them the letter and tell them why.

 

[jegblg144]

@theobvioushero “We plan on doing educational stuff with your children”

 

[hollycavanaugh]

@jegblg144 Can you reach out?

 

[wilsonpj]

@theobvioushero Honestly, I think I'd make a copy of it first, and then mark that copy all up with fixes with a red pencil. Capitalization, punctuation, spelling, etc. And return it. With a note.

 

[tony717]

@dylanrowe1 Have you spoken to the director? I would be honest that you’re confused as to the goal of this letter and what’s required. But no, this ‘school’ or daycare isn’t really up to par. Lose the $15 and move on.

 

[dylanrowe1]

@tony717 I was debating about emailing the director, but I think I will with this note attached. She should know about this. I really needed validation from the internet to know that im not being a ridiculous mom here.

 

[jesusismywheelchair]

@dylanrowe1 Giirrrllll.... TELL the director.

As long as you don't come across as entitled, demanding or over reaching you are good.
You accomplish this by stating facts. "I have concerns, not sure if others have brought this to your attention but...."Historically " I don't get behavior updates unless they are negative. " Ect. "I want to clarify the bathroom rules and ensure that this is correct as my understanding is....".

 

[wilsonpj]

@dylanrowe1 Absolutely. But don't send the original in. Send a copy. Go to your post office or library, and make a copy. Send the copy. Keep the original.

 

[smallcatwoman]

@dylanrowe1 Why the debate? Just tell them you’re confused about the grammar stuff. I’m sure they’ll take it from there.

 

[divinejourney]

@dylanrowe1 Wow this is really embarrassing. And “Bring in something that is hunting” wtf

 

[promiseokon]

@divinejourney It seems like such a weird theme for a daycare. What’s that supposed to be? A toy rifle?

 

[hartsarts]

@dylanrowe1 The letter is bad I agree. It’s written as though a non-native speaker or someone who had minimal schooling wrote it. That doesn’t mean she is uncaring though but from an educational standpoint it’s a bit concerning.

At 3 I would expect play based learning and not worksheets because that is what the research supports. Play based learning isn’t the same as free play (which is also important.) I’m definitely glad Mrs. Julie showed up to impose more structure in the day but I hope she lays of the worksheets.

I don’t know that I’d pull just yet. I’d bring this to the director’s attention and start looking around to see if there are better options and get on some waitlists.

 

[mhg]

@hartsarts I was thinking not native but y'all is very strange for a non English speaker. Maybe, speech to text?

 

[questionablepot]

@dylanrowe1 I think this letter should be the least of your concerns. You said you were getting no feedback from the previous teacher, kids weren't being taken to the bathroom regularly and there was no structure. I would be taking my kid out of that place for those issues, who cares about a grammatically poor letter?

 

[pabostt]

@questionablepot Right. Those other issues are the biggest red flags here. The fact that those things needed to be fixed to begin with.

Also, a hunting theme? Yikes. I live in MN, where hunting season is life for many people. But I'd still never want to see it as an entire theme in a preschool classroom Maybe forest animals or that kind of thing. But not killing animals as a theme.

As for the note- yes, it's weird. But could be that English is not her first language, or possibly dyslexia (maybe even undiagnosed?). Or grammar just isn't her strong point. Could still be a caring attentive caregiver. I'd show the director and suggest they just proofread her future letters before sending out.

But the previous issues that have been "fixed"? Those are the reasons to pull your child out of this facility ASAP.

 

[stevebrodie]

@dylanrowe1 Big yikes here holy mackerel

 

[quigonj]

@dylanrowe1 I may be a terrible person for judging them based off this note and feel quite bad about it, but FUCK NO. She can barely write, how much child development theory could she have possibly read? Hot hands?
No.

Just, no.

 

[4uallpraise]

@dylanrowe1 The letter is not great. I think if you were happy in general it wouldn't have to be a deal breaker but it sounds like you aren't.

As far as the basket thing, my guess is the fall festival is a fund raiser and they are making a basket for a raffle. The basket would be for an adult to win, so hunting and hot hands would be on target.

 

[mihailolt]

@4uallpraise Agreed on the raffle basket thought. The letter itself reads to me like it was typed through voice-to-text. Hailey might have been in a rush or she may have a disability of some kind that requires her to type with voice to text. It really needs to be proofread by somebody before sending it out though.