I'm probably being a snob and overthinking. I rationally know that know one else cares, but I do.
You are and you aren't. Most people (although apparently not on ML) have a rather low opinion of child care teachers so I understand where the defensiveness is coming from. Wanting to everyone to know just how educated you are so they know you are better than those other people is snobbish.
Why do most people have a low opinion of child care teachers? Serious question, not being snarky.
I'm kind of bristling over "legit teacher" right now.
Ditto kooshball in that my first assumption is that they make very little money.
I have no idea what the educational backgrounds are of the "teachers" in the 12 month and 24 month classes at my kids' daycare / preschool. The older class has two teachers, both of whom have degrees in early childhood ed.
We call them all teachers, because my kids learn a ton from them. But we also call daycare "school."
You are and you aren't. Most people (although apparently not on ML) have a rather low opinion of child care teachers so I understand where the defensiveness is coming from. Wanting to everyone to know just how educated you are so they know you are better than those other people is snobbish.
Why do most people have a low opinion of child care teachers? Serious question, not being snarky.
I'm kind of bristling over "legit teacher" right now.
My guess is that they don't know what they do. They assume they just keep my kid alive until I'm finished with work when in reality he's learning how to count, his letters etc.
I am making that assumption based on my experience as an executive assistant where people thought I just made and poured coffee all day long and had no idea why "real" employees were laid off before I was.
If someone says that they are a pediatrician, I don't think, 'That person is not a legit doctor.'
Age of clientele is not a consideration in judging professionalism.
Also, I super don't care that that is a non-nuanced answer and I may potentially be comparing apples to oranges. If someone uses the term teacher to refer to themselves then I am going to assume they know what they are saying and that that title confers a certain assumption of legitimacy and distinguishes itself from a daycare worker.
I'm here. But I'll expand further that they may work at a daycare, but I'm assuming they have a teaching degree if they're using the term "teacher."
You are and you aren't. Most people (although apparently not on ML) have a rather low opinion of child care teachers so I understand where the defensiveness is coming from. Wanting to everyone to know just how educated you are so they know you are better than those other people is snobbish.
Why do most people have a low opinion of child care teachers? Serious question, not being snarky.
I'm kind of bristling over "legit teacher" right now.
I think because the pay is low, there are usually no benefits so it doesn't usually attract the best candidates. I do it because I love it (but always have to take a couple years off after a kid because I can't afford to do it) but I don't think anyone thinks of me having a "real job". Someone at my last daycare quit and a parent told me the teacher had quit because they had gotten a real job. It bummed me out to think of the parents thinking of all their kids teachers as people without real jobs.
I was a PreK teacher at a place funded by the school district and required degrees in education, offered a nice benefit package and had no problem calling myself a preK teacher. I felt a little weird calling myself a preschool teacher at my job that hired anyone and was ran more of a daycare even though I have a bachelor's in Early Childhood Education and Elementary. But we weren't treated like "real teachers" which probably is why I felt weird calling myself one.
My job this coming year is at a place that only does preschool and follows a school calendar so I would again consider myself a real preschool teacher.
I think it depends on if they have an education degree. The boys' school is technically a daycare but every teacher (not aide, teacher) has to have a college degree in early childhood ed.
They let people start as aides and get their degree while working there if there's consistent progress but still.
So that's my answer. Degree = teacher. No degree = worker.
ETA unless they put assistant in front I assume someone saying "teacher" has their degree and is a teacher.
So, my boss sent out an email that said I accepted a preschool teaching job and yay congrats Luna to errybody. I immediately felt like NOOOO! It sounded like a step down to me. I was a daycare teacher for years, I was certified, but I didn't go to school for it, I took a 40 hour class. Now I've graduated and state certified in 3 different specialties, I dont want people to think I'm going to back to daycare.
I think this is just my own issue and I need to get over it, but I wanted to see what other people thought.
See IMO you weren't a teacher previously because you didn't have a teaching degree.
Why do most people have a low opinion of child care teachers? Serious question, not being snarky.
I'm kind of bristling over "legit teacher" right now.
My guess is that they don't know what they do. They assume they just keep my kid alive until I'm finished with work when in reality he's learning how to count, his letters etc.
I am making that assumption based on my experience as an executive assistant where people thought I just made and poured coffee all day long and had no idea why "real" employees were laid off before I was.
Conclusion: people suck.
Lol, my kid is a maniac; keeping her alive is no small accomplishment some days.
Anyone with a snooty outlook about childcare should try to watch over a room full of tiny terrors, keep them safe, wipe their asses, teach them the alphabet, and be so likeable that the kids want to see them every morning. I couldn't do it.
Regardless of the setting in which they teach, I would expect someone who says they are a preschool teacher to have teaching certification of some kind.
My guess is that they don't know what they do. They assume they just keep my kid alive until I'm finished with work when in reality he's learning how to count, his letters etc.
I am making that assumption based on my experience as an executive assistant where people thought I just made and poured coffee all day long and had no idea why "real" employees were laid off before I was.
Conclusion: people suck.
Lol, my kid is a maniac; keeping her alive is no small accomplishment some days.
Anyone with a snooty outlook about childcare should try to watch over a room full of tiny terrors, keep them safe, wipe their asses, teach them the alphabet, and be so likeable that the kids want to see them every morning. I couldn't do it.
Good point, keeping my kid alive is also an amazing feat but the job title would be something other than teacher. I can't even think. Reverse secret service? Protect him from himself instead of external threats lol.
But seriously sometimes I walk in there and I'm like "how do you handle this all day every day?!" There is one kid that is particularly....challanging. I would have snapped LONG ago with that kid.
Wasn't it fields that was VERY ADAMANT that preschool and daycare teachers were not really teachers even though most of the examples had their ece?
I don't know if it was fields or even the same conversation, but I do recall someone here getting pretty bent out of shape over people calling daycare "school."
that's right! It was this and I think the teacher thing thrown in. That Day made me giggle. .
The assistant teachers at DS's private nursery/preschool all had BAs or MAs; it was a very PT gig for moms who wanted to get out of the house on a schedule that worked with the elementary school schedules.
Post by missmaddie on Jun 30, 2015 14:48:12 GMT -5
I don't use preschool teacher and teacher intetchangibly. I would assume someone working with preschoolers to have a background in ECE, and a teacher to hold teaching qualifications. Those aren't intetchangible, at least here, although obviously some people could hold both. (I would refer to them as the teacher casually when talking to a child though, for example).
Here, my teaching degree was 5 years of university and an ECE diploma is 2 years of college. Even though I am qualified to teach kindergarten through grade 8, I most likely wouldn't/couldn't be hired in a preschool setting since I don't hold ECE qual, so it's not a matter of one being worth "more", just different.
Post by missmaddie on Jun 30, 2015 14:54:15 GMT -5
This made me think of a pet peeve - our local college ("community college" in US) refers to all insteuctors as professors, regardless of qualifications. Like, my BIL who doesn't have anything beyond high school but taught a course specific to his field one term, or my co-worker who teaches on the weekends and is finishing her Masters.
Down the road at the university people fight for tenure and the right to be called professors after earning their PhD.
I wonder if the instructors from the college write that they were a professor on their resumes.
I think it depends on if they have an education degree. The boys' school is technically a daycare but every teacher (not aide, teacher) has to have a college degree in early childhood ed.
They let people start as aides and get their degree while working there if there's consistent progress but still.
So that's my answer. Degree = teacher. No degree = worker.
ETA unless they put assistant in front I assume someone saying "teacher" has their degree and is a teacher.
So, my boss sent out an email that said I accepted a preschool teaching job and yay congrats Luna to errybody. I immediately felt like NOOOO! It sounded like a step down to me. I was a daycare teacher for years, I was certified, but I didn't go to school for it, I took a 40 hour class. Now I've graduated and state certified in 3 different specialties, I dont want people to think I'm going to back to daycare.
I think this is just my own issue and I need to get over it, but I wanted to see what other people thought.
Yes, this is something you are just going to have to get over. People get confused about lots of jobs and qualifications. You know your qualifications and skills. Strangers might not. Just ask my psychiatrist husband who meets plenty of people socially who assume if he works in out patient public mental health he's a psychologist.
If someone says that they are a pediatrician, I don't think, 'That person is not a legit doctor.'
Age of clientele is not a consideration in judging professionalism.
Also, I super don't care that that is a non-nuanced answer and I may potentially be comparing apples to oranges. If someone uses the term teacher to refer to themselves then I am going to assume they know what they are saying and that that title confers a certain assumption of legitimacy and distinguishes itself from a daycare worker.
I'm here. But I'll expand further that they may work at a daycare, but I'm assuming they have a teaching degree if they're using the term "teacher."
All pediatricians are Drs who went to medical school, but not all preschool teachers have Bachelor of Education degrees and a teaching license.
Lots of daycare lead-teachers do have degrees, but it's not required in most places. I was a lead preschool teacher when I was 18 and hadn't even started college yet.
I kind of take issue with this because I am a "legit" teacher. An ece diploma is not the same an education degree.
Go on. Flame.
I'm right there with you on this. I have a bachelor's degree in education and state issued teaching license. People working at a daycare center absolutely teach the kids things, but most of those jobs only (maybe) require a HS diploma.
It's like a healthcare aid calling themselves a nurse. Is it similar, in that they both care for patients, work in a hospital or clinic, etc? Yes. Are they a registered nurse? No.
You are and you aren't. Most people (although apparently not on ML) have a rather low opinion of child care teachers so I understand where the defensiveness is coming from. Wanting to everyone to know just how educated you are so they know you are better than those other people is snobbish.
Why do most people have a low opinion of child care teachers? Serious question, not being snarky.
I'm kind of bristling over "legit teacher" right now.
It is because in the vast majority of centers the teachers are not required to have any early childhood education or they have very little (3 classes). Of course this varies by state but it's incredibly difficult to require degreed teachers because most people aren't going to go to college for 4 years to come out and make $10 an hour with terrible benefits, they are going to get into an elementary school.
That isn't to say that you can't be a good teacher without formal education, because there are certainly naturally talented child care teachers out there. And it isn't to say that there aren't centers where one or both of the teachers in the room have 2 or 4 year degrees, because there definitely are. But those are few and far between and when your state's minimum requirements are to be 18 years old and have a HS diploma (or equivalent), you are not attracting top talent.
I don't use preschool teacher and teacher intetchangibly. I would assume someone working with preschoolers to have a background in ECE, and a teacher to hold teaching qualifications. Those aren't intetchangible, at least here, although obviously some people could hold both. (I would refer to them as the teacher casually when talking to a child though, for example).
Here, my teaching degree was 5 years of university and an ECE diploma is 2 years of college. Even though I am qualified to teach kindergarten through grade 8, I most likely wouldn't/couldn't be hired in a preschool setting since I don't hold ECE qual, so it's not a matter of one being worth "more", just different.
If I really gave it much thought, yeah this is what I was going to say.
Having a BA or a BS doesn't make someone a certified teacher. So I would assume that if someone says they're a teacher they have the qualifications to teach.
I know my ex was certified to teach PreK-8th grade and actually did part of his student teaching in a PreK classroom. I would assume that someone who is a teacher has gone through student teaching.
Not everyone is good at teaching, so my hats off to all teachers and those who work with children.
I kind of take issue with this because I am a "legit" teacher. An ece diploma is not the same an education degree.
Go on. Flame.
I'm right there with you on this. I have a bachelor's degree in education and state issued teaching license. People working at a daycare center absolutely teach the kids things, but most of those jobs only (maybe) require a HS diploma.
It's like a healthcare aid calling themselves a nurse. Is it similar, in that they both care for patients, work in a hospital or clinic, etc? Yes. Are they a registered nurse? No.
Yes I agree with this.
But to be fair you can get an early childhood education or development degree as a BS. So their actual level of education might be the same as a certified teacher.
However, I don't think that makes you a teacher unless you've done student teaching and all that jazz to become a certified teacher. If that were the case, then anyone with a bachelor's degree could say they were a teacher.
But yeah people are clueless about a lot of different jobs and qualifications so this isn't something unique to education!
I'm right there with you on this. I have a bachelor's degree in education and state issued teaching license. People working at a daycare center absolutely teach the kids things, but most of those jobs only (maybe) require a HS diploma.
It's like a healthcare aid calling themselves a nurse. Is it similar, in that they both care for patients, work in a hospital or clinic, etc? Yes. Are they a registered nurse? No.
Yes I agree with this.
But to be fair you can get an early childhood education or development degree as a BS. So their actual level of education might be the same as a certified teacher.
However, I don't think that makes you a teacher unless you've done student teaching and all that jazz to become a certified teacher. If that were the case, then anyone with a bachelor's degree could say they were a teacher.
But yeah people are clueless about a lot of different jobs and qualifications so this isn't something unique to education!
To obtain a BS in Elementary Education or Early Childhood Education you must student teach.
But to be fair you can get an early childhood education or development degree as a BS. So their actual level of education might be the same as a certified teacher.
However, I don't think that makes you a teacher unless you've done student teaching and all that jazz to become a certified teacher. If that were the case, then anyone with a bachelor's degree could say they were a teacher.
But yeah people are clueless about a lot of different jobs and qualifications so this isn't something unique to education!
To obtain a BS in Elementary Education or Early Childhood Education you must student teach.
What are you qualified to teach with a BS in ECE? Do you have to take the same licensing exam? (Is that the right word?) Like I know in VA they have to take the Praxis. Anyway, I was just wondering as to what would be the motivation to do ECE vs Elem Education when it would seem to make more sense to get the degree that might give you more options to teach from PreK to 5th or 6th grade.