It is sad that there are teachers out there who act like a bully in ANY classroom, and especially a Kindergarten teacher. A child’s first experience in school is so very important to help instill a love of learning. My advise to any parent is to move your Kindergarten child if he or she does not LOVE school within two weeks! The only reason I say two weeks is that sometimes a child may need just a little time to overcome that separation from mommy, unless they have attended a good preschool program and are used to being away from home. (A Kindergarten teacher - 43 yrs.:)
” A childs first experience in school is so very important to help instill a love of learning.”
Actually, if you researched the history of public education, you’d discover that destroying the love of learning is one of its goals.
My kindergarten child LOVED pre-school. He cried on vacation days and even some weekends because he didn't want to miss school. He was SO excited about starting kindergarten. But within a week, he was crying that he didn't want to go to school. He was there 45 days and he got in trouble 51 times. He hardly ever got in trouble in pre-school and we had few problems with the teacher, if any. In fact, he still raves about his pre-school teacher.
My wife volunteered to be an aide in the classroom, but the teacher was hostile to her. The full-time teachers aide had to leave the classroom a number of times, sometimes in tears, because of how the teacher was treating the little kids and even how she was treating the aide.
We tried repeatedly to discuss this with the principal, but he is convinced that she's doing a great job and that she is the shining example for kindergarten academics in the county. But there's no measure for kindergarten academics - not standardized tests until 3rd grade - so there's no way that he can prove this. He refused to do anything about the way she treats the kids. We finally had a meeting with the teacher and the principal and could not resolve anything. We were told to back off and let the teacher do her job without undermining her with other parents. Yet it was the other parents that had been coming to us to discuss the problems and the way the teacher was treating our children.
The problem is solved for us as we were able to take the child out of that school and away from that bully. He loves his new school and new teacher. And an added benefit is that his pre-school teacher is now a 1st grade teacher at his new school. He can't wait to start 1st grade so that he can have his pre-school teacher again.
I wish there was something more we could do to help the other children in that kindergarten class. I've thought about publicizing the problems, but we have two other children in that school and I know that the principal and some other teachers might retaliate.
We used to homeschool the kids. We know what we're up against in the public schools. We stay very involved and monitor everything and raise hell when there's a problem that deserves it.