What should I do? :(

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Montessori Teachers Chatboard

What should I do? :(

by Brenna

Nov 4, 2011

This is my 8th year teaching & I just started teaching a 3 & 4 year old classroom 2 months ago.

This school is new (a year old) & the management is ridiculous, the parents are quite nonresponsive & have no clue about Montessori or their child's skills/needs yet they want their child reading & writing like 1st graders.

My problem is I dislike my job & want to leave. I'm unhappy when I wake to go to work, but once I am in the classroom, I do take care of the kids well. I am most happy when I leave to return home.

The only thing is that being 2 months into the school year, ethically I feel guilty leaving the classroom stranded if I leave. My family & friends say to stick out this school year (till next May) but I really don't know if I could. The BIGGEST plus is that the commute is only a few minutes.

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montessori teacher and mom Is your admin open to conducting parent ed nights? Would you be interested in conducting a series of parent education nights? For the parents, find some way to get the philosophy of Montessori into their hands, in layman terminology, with ideas on how to foster the same skills at home.

Other than the lack of parent understanding, the admin...See More

Nov 4, 2011

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maureen Brenna: I worked at a big school that had very unrealistic parent expectations, and that school even had parent education nights. I found being the new teacher in an established school was quite difficult. I had a lot of previous experience teaching, but the parents were so overly critical of everything I did in those early weeks and months. I too ...See MoreBrenna: I worked at a big school that had very unrealistic parent expectations, and that school even had parent education nights. I found being the new teacher in an established school was quite difficult. I had a lot of previous experience teaching, but the parents were so overly critical of everything I did in those early weeks and months. I too felt very unhappy about going to work each day. They gave me a very challenging group of children, the other teachers had raided the room when the last teacher left, leaving huge gaps in materials and the storage was not organized at all. I stuck it out and I actually had a great year although I often had a headache. I think things (well parents) started coming around about mid year when the children were showing a lot of growth. Suddenly, I was getting the reputation that I knew what I was doing. I only taught half days so that helped. I went to full day teaching the next year and stayed with the school for 6 years.

So, it could be the fact that you are new and the parents have not yet become confident in your teaching ability. Have you had your parent teacher conferences yet? That is another opportunity to connect with the parents to build a bridge to understanding.

As for leaving this early in the school year. Only you can determine if you think you are doing the right thing by the children. At that same school there was a teacher who really was not happy teaching at the school for several reasons. She should have resigned at the end of the school year when it didn't get better. Instead she thought if she had the summer off, she would feel renewed and ready to teach in the fall. Well, she started the fall session and I think she resigned just a few weeks into the school year. It left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths due to her timing. It was obvious to the rest of us that she should just get out at the end of the school year. Instead, she put the school into a bad situation as to procuring a teacher for the class. I can't remember what they did, but I think another teacher took over her classroom and taught full time.

When my oldest dd was in her first Montessori school as a three year old, I know they must have gone through at least 4 or 5 assistants in the first couple months until the last one worked out. I don't remember being concerned but it wasn't the lead teacher. The change didn't seem to upset our child at all.

I would make a list of all the pro's and con's and see what looks like the direction is that you should go. I think I would give it another month at least, and then if you still feel that way, give your notice to give the school a chance to hire someone to start second sememster. It could hurt your own chances of getting another job if you leave under negative circumstances.

Good luck. Let us know what you decide. maureen

Nov 4, 2011

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Tell them NOW that you won't be back after winter break They should have no problem at all replacing you, and sticking around until then will give them plenty of time to do it.

Just leave this job off your resume so that when you're interviewing, you don't have to explain why you quit midyear.

On 11/04/11, Brenna wrote: > This is my 8th year teaching & I just started teaching a ...See More

Nov 5, 2011

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Lamplighters Are you looking for work? Immediate opening at my school... Located in Brooklyn NY

On 11/04/11, Brenna wrote: > This is my 8th year teaching & I just started teaching a 3 > & 4 year old classroom 2 months ago. > > This school is new (a year old) & the management is > ridiculous, the parents are quite nonresponsi...See More

Jan 22, 2012

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