the stresses of being a preschool teacher

When I was hired for this position, I was informed that there would be a lot of "stuff" to deal with concerning the children. These kids come from really rough backgrounds. I just nodded and smiled, thinking to myself that I could handle that; after all, I did my student teaching in an inner city classroom. I had kids throwing desks. I had some really rough behavior problems. Also, I had worked in preschools for 14 years, collectively. I had been in administration for almost ten. I had seen it all.......

None of that prepared me for this job. I feel so uneducated some days. Like a fish out of water. I think I need some type of trainings, not kidding. The amount of paperwork alone is totally overwhelming. I need a secretary or administrative assistant. Now I know why they are paying me so much on the hour.....LOL.

Seriously, though. I have something due to the office almost weekly. There are naturally the Lesson plans and newsletters, also we are required to create a monthly calendar. We also have to submit curriculum and non-curriculum supply lists monthly. The curriculum supply list is actually pretty cool, though. Each classroom teacher is allowed $40 per month to spend on supplies. The second Thursday of every month we all meet at Wal-Mart and we shop for our supplies. Our boss is there with us and she makes the purchases. It is totally hilarious to watch!

We are all instructed to meet at the front of the store, near the registers, by 2:30. We all use the same check out. She has previously handed us our supply list to shop with, when we check out we give it back to her. After each teacher goes through the line, the cashier will tell our boss how much that person has spent and our boss marks it on the individual supply list. Then when everyone is finished, she pays on the agency credit card. I can only imagine how much that total is, considering there is like 16 or 18 classrooms. Sheesh.....

But now I am digressing.

So the other part of my job is all the standardized testing we have to implement. I have to use something called a "DECA" form twice a year per child. I have to administer a "DENVER" twice a year per child. Each child has to have a communication screening on file. We are required to fill out two progress reports, per child, per year. Then comes the most wonderful part of all, the Creative Curriculum.

First of all, I see nothing curriculum related about this binder. Secondly, there is little room for creativity. Basically it is a testing tool. They list a total of 50 skills that a typical child should master before going to Kindergarten. I have booklets for each child. I have to also submit every score online and print out a classroom composite. Worst of all, it plots graphs and charts of the children's progress and compares from the last time the report was submitted. We have to do this form of testing three times per year.

There is little time for much of anything else, if you let yourself fall into the trap of testing for all these different forms and such. I was so caught up in it at the beginning. I wanted so badly to impress my boss and prove to her that I could do the job. I worked diligently for about three weeks to get all the testing done that was behind. I was so proud when I turned in my Spring report only a couple weeks behind everyone else. Do you know she didn't say one thing! Not one!! :(

Now for the most overwhelming part of the job......the children. Over all, my kids are wonderful. I have grown to love each one of them, and have only been there ten weeks so far. As I read more and more about them, my heart aches. Several of my students have been molested. Most of them have been physically abused. A lot of them have been/are in the middle of custody battles.....torn between two parents. These kids are up against all kinds of odds and still they come to school with a smile on their face. They feel safe. They feel loved. They long to be "normal" and do the things all preschoolers do. My job is to provide a place where they can be themselves, they can learn and be proud of what they accomplish.

My students all come from a different lifestyle then I have ever known. It is hard to say why some people choose to live the way they live. My adult life has been a struggle, but I am an adult and I can change things. These children don't know any other kind of life.......I am very thankful for the opportunity to work with them each day. I pray that I make a difference in their young lives.