What should I do now?

Question

I'm a teachers aide for a local daycare.I work w/ 2 yr olds in the potty training room.So that alone is a hand full. However,the "head" teacher is driving me insane.She barks orders to me left & right as she basically sits or stands there & does nothing.She tells me that everything I do is wrong & that I need to work faster.I change,dress,potty train,clean,discipline, take care of nap, etc etc etc for 14-16 kids! She does nothing. She tells me to cut my hour breaks short b/c she's always running late & insults me everday.& worst of all she is TERRIBLE w/ the kids. "I'm done with you!" "I want you gone" "Get away from me" "Stop saying juicy it's JUICE" She will tell me to ignore children, like if they run off outside. I'd even had one run out of the school almost.She yells at them,barks at them & she has even slapped a child! No joke! Last week I did go to the office to complain &there were possible plans of getting rid of her but nothing have changed I have another meeting tomorrow.

Answer 1

if she has slapped a child or verbally abused any child and you have formally notified the director and she has done nothing, contact licensing at once and file a complaint.  they'd can't fire you for it.  you are a mandated reporter of any kind of child abuse and by not doing so you are just as guilty.  so, first, notify the director and if she doesn't call immediately, make the call yourself.  this woman has no business working with children and if the director does nothing, neither does she.

Answer 2

You need to start keeping notes of what is happening and when. Think of yourself like a newspaper reporter--don't label her actions but simply state what happened: "Ms. X slapped Sara across her right cheek on July 14th at approximately 2 pm." This is for your protection as well as to document how poorly the teacher is acting. Keeping a small notebook in your pocket is sufficient.

Secondly, make sure that you are acting appropriately/professionally at all times. You do not want to come off as being anything like this teacher simply because you work in the same classroom together.

Unfortunately, you can't fire this woman yourself. But you can keep bringing your concerns to the director of the school and hopefully they will do something about this. I would also let the director know of any conversations you may want to have with the lead teacher BEFORE you have them. That way the director will hopefully back you up. It may take time to get rid of her simply because it's hard to find good people to work in childcare, and ratios must be maintained in classrooms.

The minute the teacher begins getting too rough with the children or abusive, I would call or leave the room to get the director. This is a scenario that could technically be reported to licensing as abuse, which could have major ramifications for the school.

Answer 3

Someone mentioned..first off act professional.  Absolutely.  Maybe you are in that room for a reason.  Sounds like changes need to be made.  Very sad.  You've taken the first step in "complaining" but don't go the complaining route too often. DOCUMENT!  Document everything you see and what is said...especially toward the children because that will get things done quicker than documenting about how she treats you.  (Though that should be documented as well).  If you can't write it down when it happens...do it when you can.  Be specific.  Date and sign the documentation and make a copy for yourself and give a copy to the director.  

I hate to recommend this because of the fact it could mean your job but if the director isn't doing anything about this in a timely manner than if that adult is slapping children you MUST report it to the authorities.  You don't want to be involved in this type of a program...if changes are not made...be sure you are looking for another job but when you leave write a letter of why you are leaving so it is documented and if they haven't been reported...do it yourself.

Answer 4

WOW! I was just going to say I can relate ( I work for a "head teacher" where I do all the work and have more education then) but mine is NOTHING like yours! I am SO appalled by what you described. I have taught preschool for 11 yrs and worked with MANY different teachers and have never seen behavior like that! I agree with all that the first person wrote- esp DOCUMENT!!!!  You need to get very specific details of what is going on in that room! If nothing gets done, then by all means find a better school, that one isn't worth your time and effort!

Answer 5

First of all, make sure you yourself are acting professionally at all times.  I have been in your position.  If you are accusing someone, the director knows something is wrong in the classroom, and she will investigate.  You don't want the head teacher to tell her that you are acting inappropriately, because your credibility will go out the window.  If you do accuse the other teacher, you better have specific details, such as date, time, who was involved, who was in the room, and exactly what happened.  Write it down if you need to.  

If she is hitting a child, that needs to be reported ASAP to the director.  Get out of the room as soon as you can, and tell the director what happened.  

One solution to the inappropriate talking to students would be for the director stand outside the door to the classroom (out of sight) and listen to what is going on.  She can then hear the teacher "first hand" and immediately act on what is happening.  

Keep in mind, though, that it is possible that you have a director who is afraid that firing the teacher could result in a lawsuit for the daycare center, or other trouble.  There is a lot of documentation that has to go into properly firing a person from their job.  Or, the director could just not want to deal with it.  How has this problem gotten as far as it has?  Doesn't the director know what her employees are doing?  Doesn't she look at what is going on in the classroom?  It's possible you may need to quit and look elsewhere for a job, and just count this up to experience.