[Serious] Parents who feel that preschool/pre-k teachers are “just babysitters”: why do you feel that way?

[katrina2017]

@alexandru Not a teacher, just a troll for sad boomer men with nothing better to do than be rude and project their on baggage onto someone’s sincere post

 

[alexandru]

@katrina2017 Well you're a terrific troll. In every sense of the word. We're all entitled to our individual opinions, unless you disagree I guess.
Petty & arrogant too, apparently.

 

[katrina2017]

@naomi_sarai I don't personally think this way. We loved our Pre-K teacher so much that we became friends after our first moved on from her center. But I think the issue is how pre-K is framed. At least where I'm from we don't generally refer to it as pre-K. We call it childcare or daycare. Which doesn't imply that there is academic value to it. It makes it sound like...babysitting. Again, NOT my view, just thinking out loud about how people get into that mindset.

The other issue is the age of the children. They're not developed enough to come home and tell their parents about all the things they did or learned and the staff don't have the time to update every parent every day. So it again ends up feeling like babysitting. Yet all of the teachers there are ECE's and no parent I know would send their children somewhere that didn't have ECE's.

 

[mrv2u]

@naomi_sarai Because I can only remember playtime from Kindergarten and assumed pre K would be more of that. Also my mom had 5 kids, none of us went to pre school so i figured it must not be important.

It is also worth mentioning that I have never even really wondered what happens at Pre K, so my knowledge of it is limited to what you just posted.

 

[genenco]

@naomi_sarai I thought my kids Pre school (kindergarten) teachers were brilliant and rated them very highly. However, I wasn’t so interested in the academic side of what they did at that age. I purposefully found a place that was more about outdoors and free choice because I think we start kids formal learning too young.

 

[abbalove]

@naomi_sarai Never have thought this and can't believe other parents do to be honest. Pre k /Early learning is the foundation for primary/elementary school. It teaches children learning through play. There is more to education than books and numbers. My son was diagnosed with autism in playschool and he's teachers helped so much. He honestly wouldn't of been able to cope with mainstream school only for them.

 

[kaynic]

@naomi_sarai In the UK so we don't have pre-K but my bean goes to a preschool (ages 3/4) they have taught them so many amazing things that I couldn't or haven't been able to due to work. Thank you so much for caring for and teaching our monkeys! I appreciate you.

 

[catfish57]

@naomi_sarai That's just silly. You are not a babysitter.

 

[nawmoty]

@naomi_sarai My son’s pre-school teachers are miracle workers. There’s no way I could ever pay back what they have done for my family.

 

[littlestar777]

@naomi_sarai For some people I've talked to in the US, it seems that because it is often called daycare centers they think kids are just running wild. Typically when parents pick up and drop off kids, they are doing free play and just running around. There are centers that definitely do more than other centers do. Because of scheduling issues and covid, my son has been primarily taken care of at an in-home daycare/nanny. I work in an after school program for teenagers and have always been treated like we are just daycare centers as well. I work with 16 and up students helping them get jobs and we are just seen as after school care. I train kids in culinary, welding, STEM, logistics, automotive, etc. and still get asked by parents why we don't have a basketball team/court. Another commenter said that this is seen as women's work and therefore it is undervalued and I really, truly think that has a lot to do with the issues surrounding this.

 

[katrina2017]

@naomi_sarai I was bracing myself for the tears from reading responses to this post. OP, thank you for asking, and everyone else thank you for validating my career. I’m now instead moved to tears for gratitude for the love and understanding in this post from parents.

I love my job. I love my pre-k students. And I love parents who realize the good we’re trying to do by selecting the career & age we have.