To All Teachers; Can you answer this honestly?

[ssd]

My friend is a teacher in a primary school and she says she can always tell the difference between children that have been in full time childcare since they were small and the ones that have been at home mostly looked after by their mum or relatives.

Would you agree?

Please be honest, I don't know if she's talking rubbish or not?

Secondary here. Couldn't tell

secondary. can't tell either. I can tell some of the kids who are experts at playing off mum against dad.

secondary teacher here also - I agree with what the others have said - by the time they get to me - it is more about parents who value education and are supportive of their children in a positive way - clearly well aware of what their child is like - good or bad.. than those who think it is my job to raise them ( Remember a dad who told me - he knew "his son was an arsehole but what did I expect him to do about it?"), babysit them or just contain them in a room/school for the better part of a day.

Sorry, but this is crap. And yes, of course I have an axe to grind, of course I'm a working mother whose children have been in f/t childcare since the age of 6 months, and of course that invalidates my reaction to this... but hey, I don't care, I'm going to post it anyway.

I have two dds. DD1 is in Year 1. She was in full-time nursery care from 6 months to age 3. Then she was in a state nursery school mornings and with a childminder afternoons till she started 'proper' school. She is certainly not badly behaved. She has some problems concentrating and could listen to the teachers better. It may be that if she'd been with me till she was 5 that would have been better, I don't know. But I know that she's not having any problems at school, so she can't be that bad. DD2 was at nursery from 6-18 months, then with a childminder full-time till she started part-time nursery (which is where she still is). She is one of the best-behaved children in the class (proud mummy emoticon!) and is always coming home with stickers for being helpful, sitting nicely, or whatever. Is this because she's with a childminder (and therefore something approximating more closely to a home environment)? Or is it just her personality?

It makes me really angry to feel that teachers are judging parents on the basis of decisions which they make for the good of their families. Grrrr...

(Oh, and btw, I didn't click on this thread because I was looking for a fight! I do teach, but I teach over-18s and, guess what, no, I can't tell which of them were in childcare and which were not!!)

Hang on, as far as I remember the teachers on this thread have said that they can't tell that a child has been in child care. The only teacher who has said this was the friend of the OP.

Oops! Oversensitive? Moi?

(Read first few posts, got hot under collar, posted, then read the rest .)

I'm still right about the original comment being balls though!!!!

just goes to show you should read the posts!

Am I let off now then?

I don't normally get carried away and start ranting, but have had one of those weeks (... among other things, I had to teach for a whole day in sunglasses because my specs broke). Typical that I'd let rip on a thread which really didn't merit it!

Herc... do I need more of these?

I'm a little sceptical of the claim - partly because I wonder to what extent she has verified each child's childcare history and how "scientific" she's been. People see what they want to see.

I'd LOVE to teach for a whole day in sunglasses! How cool!

also - becoming a parent makes you a better teacher. x

also also - I do not envy primary school teachers. It's an extremely demanding job where you have to be all things to all people. Lets big them up!

fob... sadly the cool aspect was slightly ruined by my complete inability to see anything/anyone/my notes... and by me constantly moaning about how I couldn't see anything! I was basically a target for massive mickey-taking all day!

IMO primary school teachers deserve a medal. I have enough trouble managing my two (not that they're naughty due to being in childcare or anything... and a little again), imagine that but with 30 of them! Must have compensations, though. DD2 insisted that I had to invite her nursery teachers to her birthday party because she loved them so much.

When I think of my class of 17 year old lumps, I think that sunglasses would be a huge improvement. They didn't even recognise that I was pregnant at 36 weeks!
Is that cos they were 17 or because they were boys. or both!
Ellbell - you do teach over 18's so surely you should be the one taking the mick!

Oh, it was friendly mickey-taking. Doesn't help that I teach Italian, so obviously was accused of getting ideas of glamour above my station!!!

So sorry but can I just do a small hijack as there are so many teachers on this thread ,when are the Ks sats on in May ,I have been invited for a weekend away in May and i dont want it to clash with sats . And i really think it depends on home support and not child care .

I'm now a primary teacher (except I've stopped work to be a sahm!), but started off in a day care nursery (3months - 5yrs). Admittedly not a great one,...
Even so, each child reacted so differently to the environment. I could see clearly with some that the social and educational provision were fantastic for them and they responded really well. Others behaved terribly or found it difficult to cope, and my heart bled for them because I felt that they should be at home / with a childminder. There didn't seem to be any particular correspondence between ability to cope and the age they started attending either. I agree that the child's behaviour is much more to do with their relationship with their parents and their individual temperament.

I must admit, there was one child who made me question why on earth her parents bothered with having children in the first place. She attended full time - from 8am -6pm, 5 days a week, would be dropped off for breakfast as soon as the doors opened and collected as late as possible. Mum put her in her night-time nappy before they left because she would fall asleep in the car on the way home and sleep through the night. Apparently she often cried at the weekend that she wanted to 'go home' (meaning the nursery) to be with X (her key worker). I know their family situation can not have been straight forward, but such a sweet kid and she ended up having virtually no relationship with her own parents and became pretty insecure as a result.

Thell thats so sad
Sadly though, for more kids than you might think, school is the only safe, consistent influence they have in their life.
The demise of the extended family must also have a role to play in this.
Some parents obviously find the work/care thing completely overwhelming.
We all need a wee bit of help now and then

Ellbell LOL at you and your axe grinding!

Commiserations re the sunglasses.. but am smiling (very slightly) because it reminds me of Hugh Grant in Notting Hill when he couldn't find his glasses for cinema date with Julia Roberts and so wore prescription ski goggles!

Bad week here too.. all the kids have had flu.. ALL THREE OF THE BLIGHTERS!!! And I tried so hard to keep DS1 away from the lurgies by sending him into exile. He has succumbed anyway.. and is so unaccustomed to feeling so crap that is behaving in a REAL man-flu way whilst reclining on sofa! Be glad when this week is over.. but arrrrgghh.. you know what tomorrow is don't you! (Have mentioned it on a few threads.. but am scared that HE will idly glance at MN while preparing to surf another page.. and can't let cat out of bag now... it's been like a military operation!!)

SJ x

(Sorry for partial thread crash..)

Could've been worse, I suppose. Could've been ski goggles (though that would imply I had enough coordination to make skiing a possibility!) Have thrown axe out of window.

Good luck for tomorrow!

C