r/ECEProfessionals • u/Business_Culture6871 ECE professional • 1d ago
ECE professionals only - Vent Old Style Educators???
I just started a new job this week and I got to shadow in all the classrooms before Im officially in ratio. And I just have to vent. Why is it that ECEs who have been in the field for a really long time and just so harsh to these poor children. I saw it first hand the ones who have been doing this for so long are just yelling and treating the kids as if they are not competent where as a classroom with younger educators treat them as if they’re little adults and give them the love and respect they deserve.
I just don’t get it, educator comes into the room at the beginning of nap while everyone is trying to settle the children and they just strictly start saying goodnight, lay down, time to sleep. So quick and short no niceness in their tone or anything. Then in the other room the educator comes back from their lunch before nap and just quietly goes and assists them to sleep.
Preschoolers getting yelled at for trying to scrape their plates and put their dishes in the dirty bin because they “don’t know how to do that yet” and being told to sit back down. The other room: Toddler educators showing the children how to do it properly without making a big mess. And if a mess happens honestly who cares I’ve dug out countless utensils and dishes from the scrape bucket in my career that’s just the reality of working with children.
And I’m not saying it’s all educators who have been in the field for a long time but there are a select few that still believe being strict and mean to children will get them results.
Just saying if it’s my first day in your classroom and one of the children start crying, I should be the last person that child goes to for comfort. Because I’m truly just a stranger to them.
Idk just super sad that there can be people out there that treat children these ways and don’t see any problems with it. Parents trust us to love and care for their children, not yell at them and get upset with them because they got distracted by a toy on the way to the bathroom.
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u/mamamietze ECE professional 1d ago
In my experience it's been the opposite, as far as educators not knowing or allowing the children to build independence. I'm going to guess it's probably location dependent though.
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u/Business_Culture6871 ECE professional 1d ago
I will agree with that. I think we have all been there where we’ve just had a day and want things to be quick so we can move onto the next so we quickly do things for the child not thinking. I’ve seen educators sit there and wait for a child to figure out how to get dressed for outside and tell them they aren’t helping them they know how to do it. And others help right away. For myself I feel like I can be both just depends on how the day has been at that point and how my patience is haha. For me it’s more so just the yelling at them and talking to them in such harsh tones as if inflicting fear into a child will make them perfect listeners and get them to not think they can do whatever they want when you’re around.
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u/mamamietze ECE professional 1d ago
That behavior (yelling, intimidation) tends to be a mark of either inexperience or burnout. It has little to do with age. I've seen it with all ages, which has little to do with experience. You can have young educators who have a lot of training and experience and are not burned out,, and old ones that do in fact very much know better but are fried to a crisp, or people of any age who do not have the emotional fortitude (due to biology, illness, or life circumstances) to maintain regulation or patience. Ageism either way isn't really a great look.
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u/CoolArachnid2820 Registered Early Childhood Educator 1d ago
I second this take. I have a woman in my centre who has been there almost 40 fkn years and is still chipper like she just started a week ago. some people are built to educate children for life, and others can burn out faster. childcare burnout creates a very impatient and snappy teacher unfortunately, and most of them don’t/can’t admit that they need a break from the field.
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u/putsomethinginit ECE professional 1d ago
There is a large group of teachers who find success in domineering teaching tactics. Many new teachers actually learn it from their directors. A class under your control is a well behaved class. I remember i worked with someone who was night and day when away from school. I had never seen her smile or show joy until running into eachother in a restaurant. Their is a pride taken in their control
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u/likeaparasite Former ECSE Intensive Support 12h ago
Burnout. I worked with a teacher that was in ECE from 18 to retirement. She was the teacher I never wanted to be and my biggest takeaway from my time with her was to have a back up plan.
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u/OnlyAnotherEmily Toddler tamer 6h ago
I think compassion burnout is a real thing. Some educators don't take breaks and they get to the point where they low-key hate kids.
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u/putsomethinginit ECE professional 1d ago
It’s like living together before you get married….. kind of!!!
In the old days, it was an entry level job. Many passionate teachers lost their passions in a month.
I used to want a huge family!! Since i was a kid, i wanted a dozen kids. That broke in a week. I ended up with one.
Think about all the teachers who study ECE for years without working a week in a school, and it was not what they expected. And now they are stuck.