Bad Working Conditions in Preschool
February 20, 2010 9:52 AM Subscribe
I started working as an Assistant Teacher at a preschool a few months ago, and I do not find the working conditions acceptable. I am wondering if there are other preschool teachers out there, and what your experiences are like? (or others who are not teachers but know something about preschools or labor laws/working conditions).
Some background info: I like kids and all, but mostly I took this job because it would enable me to use Chinese, which I spent several years studying in China. (I work at a preschool/after-school center in chinatown where the majority of kids speak Chinese as a first language). So, I took the job, because, again, I do like kids, have experience as a teacher, and was interested in the cultural/language environment.
The school is small. Almost all of the kids get subsidies to go there. When I was hired I was told that I'd get a raise after 3 months. (my initial pay was $12.50/hr.) After about 4 months, I got a raise of $.25/hr. I got a good review but was told there were budget issues...
Breaks: Basically, none of the teachers take any breaks throughout the day because there is no time. We work 8-hour days, and when the kids are napping, we must do prep, lesson-planning, and observations (or attend to kids who can't sleep). This drove me nuts, so when I talked to the director about it, she told me I am entitled to two 10-minute breaks in the day and I need to work out a schedule with my head teacher. So we worked one out but basically I don't get to take it most of the time (or I just leave for 5 minutes to get a coffee) because I need to do lesson plans, prep, and observations. There's no other time except the weekend to do this stuff.
Well, I have given up and REALLy want another job and am looking for one....I am just really curious if this is typical at all? I also want to know if others have any ideas about why qualified teachers would want to work in a place like this (because a few have stayed for a few years). Granted the school is an urban one, has funding issues, etc., but no breaks?!
Any other preschool teachers out there? I'd really like your input. Oh yeah....and even though I am an assistant teacher, I am expected to do at least half of the lesson-planning. Is that normal?
Some background info: I like kids and all, but mostly I took this job because it would enable me to use Chinese, which I spent several years studying in China. (I work at a preschool/after-school center in chinatown where the majority of kids speak Chinese as a first language). So, I took the job, because, again, I do like kids, have experience as a teacher, and was interested in the cultural/language environment.
The school is small. Almost all of the kids get subsidies to go there. When I was hired I was told that I'd get a raise after 3 months. (my initial pay was $12.50/hr.) After about 4 months, I got a raise of $.25/hr. I got a good review but was told there were budget issues...
Breaks: Basically, none of the teachers take any breaks throughout the day because there is no time. We work 8-hour days, and when the kids are napping, we must do prep, lesson-planning, and observations (or attend to kids who can't sleep). This drove me nuts, so when I talked to the director about it, she told me I am entitled to two 10-minute breaks in the day and I need to work out a schedule with my head teacher. So we worked one out but basically I don't get to take it most of the time (or I just leave for 5 minutes to get a coffee) because I need to do lesson plans, prep, and observations. There's no other time except the weekend to do this stuff.
Well, I have given up and REALLy want another job and am looking for one....I am just really curious if this is typical at all? I also want to know if others have any ideas about why qualified teachers would want to work in a place like this (because a few have stayed for a few years). Granted the school is an urban one, has funding issues, etc., but no breaks?!
Any other preschool teachers out there? I'd really like your input. Oh yeah....and even though I am an assistant teacher, I am expected to do at least half of the lesson-planning. Is that normal?
Response by poster: No, we do NOT get lunch breaks. We have to eat with the kids, or eat during their naptime. Naptime is not really a break, as there needs to be someone supervising the kids at all times. Once there are asleep, there is a laundry list of prep/etc to do. There's no break room at the school. There is no union for the teachers at this school.
Again, reasons why I am looking for another job. But I am also curious about working conditions for other preschool teachers...esp ones who work at subsidized preschools in low-income areas. So far other preschool teachers I have asked in the city where I work get 1-hour breaks for lunch.
posted by bearette at 10:27 AM on February 20, 2010
Again, reasons why I am looking for another job. But I am also curious about working conditions for other preschool teachers...esp ones who work at subsidized preschools in low-income areas. So far other preschool teachers I have asked in the city where I work get 1-hour breaks for lunch.
posted by bearette at 10:27 AM on February 20, 2010
I teach, but not preschool. Most teachers sure aren't in it for the money or the working conditions. Lesson planning at home? totally normal. And I often have meetings and tutoring during lunch 'break'. The teachers who have been there for years could offer help with lesson planning since they surely have a library of them by now; its not like they need to re-invent the wheel every year for a new crop of 4 year olds.
posted by TDIpod at 10:27 AM on February 20, 2010
posted by TDIpod at 10:27 AM on February 20, 2010
I'm a teacher and yes... you get "breaks" and during these breaks you grade, do lesson prep, clean your room or do duty during what was supposed to be a duty free period. This is teaching. However, your pay is ridiculous, get certified, get in a union and start getting real pay. Teachers in most states get livable wages now, much more than 12.75 an hour.
posted by ExitPursuedByBear at 10:30 AM on February 20, 2010
posted by ExitPursuedByBear at 10:30 AM on February 20, 2010
Best answer: When I taught pre-school, all lesson planning was done at home, meaning there was time available during the school day for breaks. This is, as far as I know, the norm; the idea that you would be able to do any kind of effective lesson planning while there are kids in the room seems... fanciful... to me.
If you get two 10 minute breaks and have a schedule worked out with the head teacher, take the full ten minutes. That's what the agreement is and the classroom will not fall apart if you take the ten instead of the five.
I'm not sure what to tell you about lunch; I rarely ate lunch outside of the classroom and almost always ate with the kids. This was also standard in my school.
In general, however, it sounds like your center is short-staffed and under-funded, without enough people to sufficiently deal with coverage for breaks and meals and illness, and you should probably look for another, better working environment. In the interim, do not burn your bridges; references in child care are pretty critical.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:37 AM on February 20, 2010
If you get two 10 minute breaks and have a schedule worked out with the head teacher, take the full ten minutes. That's what the agreement is and the classroom will not fall apart if you take the ten instead of the five.
I'm not sure what to tell you about lunch; I rarely ate lunch outside of the classroom and almost always ate with the kids. This was also standard in my school.
In general, however, it sounds like your center is short-staffed and under-funded, without enough people to sufficiently deal with coverage for breaks and meals and illness, and you should probably look for another, better working environment. In the interim, do not burn your bridges; references in child care are pretty critical.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:37 AM on February 20, 2010
Sounds like it depends on the school -- my girlfriend is a middle school teacher. She gets a one hour planning time before the start of the academic day (frequently consumed with meetings), and then 30-minute lunch break and 45 a minute "prep hour" where the students are nominally supervised by others -- however, she typically gives up some or all of this break time to support students who need additional tutoring or even just a quiet place to work. She normally works, either at the school building or at home, until 9pm or later. So, sounds about normal, particularly if the staff is small and there's nobody to watch the kids while you take lunch.
posted by Alterscape at 10:37 AM on February 20, 2010
posted by Alterscape at 10:37 AM on February 20, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks, Darling Bri. The issue with taking breaks is that although we have "worked out" break time for me, for whatever reason I rarely can take them. The head teacher seems to bristle every time I ask to go on a break. Also, if there is no available coverage, or if there is a meeting, I simply cannot go.
iI'd be really interested to hear other preschool teachers' experiences...
posted by bearette at 10:45 AM on February 20, 2010
iI'd be really interested to hear other preschool teachers' experiences...
posted by bearette at 10:45 AM on February 20, 2010
Well, I have given up and REALLy want another job and am looking for one....I am just really curious if this is typical at all?
The pay is low, but I assume you aren't certified. To answer your questions - yes, the working conditions sound pretty typical. At least in my state, any shift under 8.5 hours does not necesitate a break. I understand that 8 hours working with kids can be really exhausting, but I think most teachers just get used to it.
posted by pintapicasso at 10:48 AM on February 20, 2010
The pay is low, but I assume you aren't certified. To answer your questions - yes, the working conditions sound pretty typical. At least in my state, any shift under 8.5 hours does not necesitate a break. I understand that 8 hours working with kids can be really exhausting, but I think most teachers just get used to it.
posted by pintapicasso at 10:48 AM on February 20, 2010
In terms of the pay, this might help: The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers salary schedules (.pdf). The last page, in the lower-left corner, has pay for "Teacher Assistant, Pre-Kindergarten Head Start" (but there are other categories, if this is not the right one for you). For Step 1, the pay is $17135/year or $790 every-other week. That's a little under $10/hour.
Also, their 2009 - 2012 Tentative Agreement (.pdf), on pages 7-8 have information about break times, lunches, and preparation time for members of their union.
posted by Houstonian at 10:55 AM on February 20, 2010
Also, their 2009 - 2012 Tentative Agreement (.pdf), on pages 7-8 have information about break times, lunches, and preparation time for members of their union.
posted by Houstonian at 10:55 AM on February 20, 2010
My mom taught preschool and kindergarten for 30 years and the one thing I took away from it was she worked way too much. You take it home with you, you work all the time and you don't get paid extra. It's not like other jobs and all your breaks will involve working. Eat when the kids are eating and take your time when you get a coffee - offer to get one for your head teacher at the same time, walk the long way back.
If you are concerned about this sort of thing, look to another career. Seriously. The number one reason I am not a teacher right now is because of seeing my Mom overworked, underpaid and underappreciated. I'd rather have a life!
Note: small private schools are a million times worse for this stuff. Union work in district schools will be better. But it's still a hell of a job.
posted by smartypantz at 11:05 AM on February 20, 2010
If you are concerned about this sort of thing, look to another career. Seriously. The number one reason I am not a teacher right now is because of seeing my Mom overworked, underpaid and underappreciated. I'd rather have a life!
Note: small private schools are a million times worse for this stuff. Union work in district schools will be better. But it's still a hell of a job.
posted by smartypantz at 11:05 AM on February 20, 2010
Best answer: My mother worked for years in preschools while I was growing up and they ranged from church basement deals to certified Head Start programs. The working conditions were, as a rule, terrible. We're not talking even the normal plight of the over-worked teacher--we're talking about many schools run by people totally unqualified and out to make an easy buck. A cousin of mine, working twenty years later in the same field, has found the same to be true. She quit for reasons similar to yours (as a nursing mother, she was told she'd be given breaks to nurse her child who was getting free childcare in a class there, and then her boss said she wasn't allowed to take 15 minutes off twice a day to do so!).
My mother eventually went on to get her certification in a difficult field (special ed) and now art to middle-school aged special ed students. And loves it. And finds the working conditions bearable, even if she's often tired. I'd get out of the preschool game.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 11:47 AM on February 20, 2010
My mother eventually went on to get her certification in a difficult field (special ed) and now art to middle-school aged special ed students. And loves it. And finds the working conditions bearable, even if she's often tired. I'd get out of the preschool game.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 11:47 AM on February 20, 2010
Based on friends' tales, this is normal at most daycares/preschools, especially on the lower end of the price scale.
posted by k8t at 12:34 PM on February 20, 2010
posted by k8t at 12:34 PM on February 20, 2010
Best answer: This is normal, unfortunately, and depending on where you are, the pay is great. If you were doing this job in Asheville you'd be making maybe $8.50 - $10 an hour, get no benefits and no breaks. Preschool teaching, along with one on one care for children and adults with disabilities, is one of the great terrible holes of the American work force. My daughter works with autistic children; right now she's doing a 24 hour respite with a 7 year old. She will be paid $13 an hour (that's because she has four years experience and a four year degree, otherwise it would be $9) for 18 hours; the other six hours will be unpaid, even though she has to be there with the child. For preschool, there's no union and there's no certification for the most part. The vast majority of preschools are private; public schools typically, at least outside major urban areas, do not have preschools. Even certified Head Start schools often hire unqualified kids right out of college, or, more typically, people with 2 year associates degrees. They pay them nothing and they don't get breaks or paid time off. Education is great, isn't it?
posted by mygothlaundry at 12:57 PM on February 20, 2010
posted by mygothlaundry at 12:57 PM on February 20, 2010
There are some laws governing breaks and lunch but, as I recall, they don't give you much. I've been teaching for several years I've worked in daycare, private schools and public schools, and I have never gotten a "coffee break". Nap time is not a break, it's part of the work day and you are expected to be on duty. In daycare I never had any planning time and did all my planning at home. I get 15 - 25 min. for lunch, depending on how quickly I can get my class through the lunch line. My lunch is semi-duty free but I can't leave the building and this is in public school.
It sounds like you would be better suited to work in an office where you get a coffee break and a lunch hour.
PS: You get paid a lot more than my assistant and she's been here for 8 years.
posted by Flacka at 1:19 PM on February 20, 2010
It sounds like you would be better suited to work in an office where you get a coffee break and a lunch hour.
PS: You get paid a lot more than my assistant and she's been here for 8 years.
posted by Flacka at 1:19 PM on February 20, 2010
Response by poster: Flacka: Can you tell me why you have chosen to work under those conditions?
btw, I am not asking for a "coffee break", I am asking for ANY break throughout the day at all.
posted by bearette at 1:32 PM on February 20, 2010
btw, I am not asking for a "coffee break", I am asking for ANY break throughout the day at all.
posted by bearette at 1:32 PM on February 20, 2010
I was also an assistant teacher (and, later, a substitute) in a preschool for developmentally delayed children some years back. It was the headstart program, so it was low-income and, of course, always underfunded.
Your pay sounds great--I got $8/hr, no benefits. Breaks were not part of the equation, though our day was from eight to three, so not eight hours. We had two classes, morning and afternoon, so there was about twenty minutes of not-having-kids at midday, but that time was usually spent tidying up the room from the first class, making photocopies, or otherwise preparing for the next class. We often ate with the kids, because that's when there was time. Lesson plans were done at home, as was a lot of prep. There just isn't enough time in the day for it all.
Your situation sounds pretty typical to me, honestly, especially in areas where preschool is subsidized and there's not a lot of funding. I'm actually surprised that you were told you could have breaks at all--I've never heard of anyone in education getting a break like that.
posted by MeghanC at 4:10 PM on February 20, 2010
Your pay sounds great--I got $8/hr, no benefits. Breaks were not part of the equation, though our day was from eight to three, so not eight hours. We had two classes, morning and afternoon, so there was about twenty minutes of not-having-kids at midday, but that time was usually spent tidying up the room from the first class, making photocopies, or otherwise preparing for the next class. We often ate with the kids, because that's when there was time. Lesson plans were done at home, as was a lot of prep. There just isn't enough time in the day for it all.
Your situation sounds pretty typical to me, honestly, especially in areas where preschool is subsidized and there's not a lot of funding. I'm actually surprised that you were told you could have breaks at all--I've never heard of anyone in education getting a break like that.
posted by MeghanC at 4:10 PM on February 20, 2010
Response by poster: "depending on where you are, the pay is great."
I live in Philadelphia. I can survive on this pay, as a single person with not many expenses, but I really don't think of it as "great". I guess you meant relatively speaking?
I'm actually surprised that you were told you could have breaks at all--I've never heard of anyone in education getting a break like that.
huh? As far as I am aware, teachers (k-12) typically get a lunch break as well as a prep period. At least, that is true in the Phila. public school system. I have also talked to more than one preschool teacher who got an hour-long lunch break.
Thanks for the responses...I am glad in a way to know that my situation is typical. But I sort of feel like other preschool teachers on here are trying to "put me in my place" because I deign to expect my two 10-minute breaks a day. (as required by law, btw).
But I am probably being a bit sensitive. Thanks for the replies anyway!
posted by bearette at 5:36 PM on February 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
I live in Philadelphia. I can survive on this pay, as a single person with not many expenses, but I really don't think of it as "great". I guess you meant relatively speaking?
I'm actually surprised that you were told you could have breaks at all--I've never heard of anyone in education getting a break like that.
huh? As far as I am aware, teachers (k-12) typically get a lunch break as well as a prep period. At least, that is true in the Phila. public school system. I have also talked to more than one preschool teacher who got an hour-long lunch break.
Thanks for the responses...I am glad in a way to know that my situation is typical. But I sort of feel like other preschool teachers on here are trying to "put me in my place" because I deign to expect my two 10-minute breaks a day. (as required by law, btw).
But I am probably being a bit sensitive. Thanks for the replies anyway!
posted by bearette at 5:36 PM on February 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
You should absolutely be entitled to *at least* thirty minutes. I'm a preschool teacher, and I get thirty minutes a day. Though I do sometimes need to get work done at this time, I do have these thirty minutes that are designated as break time. I've worked at other preschools before this, and actually gotten longer breaks. At one place, I got a 45 minute break for lunch every day, and at another place I got an hour. I live in NYC, and as I understand it, if one is working working 5+ hours in this field, he/ she supposed to get a break. Working with young children is intense, far more so than anyone who hasn't spent a significant amount of time in a preschool classroom can ever imagine. I know that when I have to work for too many hours without a break, it gets quite overwhelming, and my teaching performance goes downhill accordingly. It's really not good for the children when their teachers are too overwhelmed and exhausted to teach all that effectively. You're absolutely right to take issue with this. I hope you can find another teaching job where the teachers are better treated.
posted by edupoet81 at 7:32 PM on February 20, 2010
posted by edupoet81 at 7:32 PM on February 20, 2010
I'm an assistant at a preschool. I makes less than you do. I work 7 hours days (typically) and I always get an hour lunch (paid). I'm not part of a union. I don't do any lesson planning (which might be because we are Montessori and I'm not certified).
I don't understand how you can not get an actual lunch/break? Doesn't that violate some labor law?
posted by Amanda B at 11:55 PM on February 20, 2010
I don't understand how you can not get an actual lunch/break? Doesn't that violate some labor law?
posted by Amanda B at 11:55 PM on February 20, 2010
The job of a teacher isn't like working in business, it's a unique profession. Those of us who teach the younger children are "on" all the time so we have to do grading and planning outside of classroom time. Unlike working in business where there are many companies you can work for, there is only 1 school district in the area so I can't just change employers if I don't like where I am. Teachers are the public's punching bag and that has driven many good teachers away. I guess I put up with it because teaching is my calling and I do it for the kids.
posted by Flacka at 7:01 AM on February 21, 2010
posted by Flacka at 7:01 AM on February 21, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
If you are in a union school, you should be taking this question up with your union rep.
Speaking as a skilled professional (non-educational) who has worked his entire career in non-union corporate office environments, breaks can be kinda fuzzy depending on workload. One of the things that comes with being a "professional" is the obligation and privilege (absent micromanagers) to manage your own time and workflow and make your own decisions w/r/t breaks. You will not find, I think, an environment where someone blows a whistle and orders you to stop working and take a break.
You also don't mention lunch at all, so I'm assuming you get the obligatory 30 mins to eat. That's the standard if not the law: One 30-min lunch and two shorter breaks (10-15 min) per 8-hour workday.
If you get NO demarcated lunch breaks and work in an environment which does not afford that time to you, you have a serious gripe. If it's just that your workload makes it hard for you to keep up AND take breaks, you may need to suck it up and/or find ways to manage your time better.
posted by BigLankyBastard at 10:21 AM on February 20, 2010