Pros
I cannot think of any. There absolutely are not any pros to this daycare besides it is a job that puts food on the table
Cons
-no disciplinary actions for the children. Teachers cannot use any form of consequences, positive rewards, or anything of the sort to help with behavior. Even children who have multiple cases of hurting other children intentionally all we are allowed to do is say 'don't do it again' and hope they listen. - terrible pay for long hours. Being forced to take 2+ hour breaks so they don't have to pay you overtime and if you hit overtime, changing your clock in clock out hours in the system so it doesn't show any overtime anymore. - work under bad conditions. At childtime I was told to put up beautiful pictures landscapes and different cultures....to cover up large holes in the walls they didn't want to fix so they wouldn't be shut down by corporate. -at child time I unfortunately got strep throat very badly from a few of the kids (13 cases in my classroom) and as soon as I found out, I was told to not go into work for 24 hours so the antibiotics could kick in and I could break my fever and not spread it anymore. This was treated as the biggest inconvenience ever to my boss who said 'well we can't find anyone to cover your shift because you don't want to come in.' I did and I stated I did but under policy and doctors orders I had a fever, strep and was contagious. I'm not allowed to work until I am on antibiotics or fever free for 24 hours. And then my boss said expect to be called in to work starting your normal hours 8-6. Openly knowing I had a fever, severe strep, could barely talk, and was contagious, wanted me to come in and get everyone else in my classroom and the center strep when we already had 13 cases in 4 days because they are so under staffed. -I on numerous occasions was told to serve spoiled milk, molded food and food that had fallen on the floor. I was told it was fine to handle it without gloves and at the end of the meal to just spray down with some bleach which isn't protocol. -also on numerous occasions I was told an incident report was not necessary. I was trained to do an incident report for anything. A cut, a bump, a fall, a scratch. Anything just to be on the safe side. 1) you have to get permission to get an incident report 2) you only get to fill one out if 'It's going to absolutely leave a noticeable mark or they really hit their head'. Never have I ever been told at a daycare I've worked at that it's only important if it'll show up. -no rules or learning. For 8 hours a day the children are in centers. Which basically stands for play time for 8 hours. There are Legos, magnets, board games, computer games and more. There is no learning whatsoever even when the director gives you the lie of 'the kids learn through play'. Kids do learn through play and self expression but under no circumstances does playing candy land teach them anything to get them ready for school. Under no circumstances does letting them do whatever they want for 8 hours help them learn anything. Most reputable daycares at least have a learning activity in the mornings like learning to write their name and then free play after nap - unclean conditions. Although we are told there are cleaning people who come in and clean thoroughly Monday's and Wednesday's, they don't clean at all. No one cleans besides doing a quick spray of bleach on the table after a meal. There is a huge infestation of ants in all the rooms I've been in. Gloves and protocol doesn't exist and most of the time isn't brought out with food for us. - teachers have no control. Whether it's their impossible unreasonable hours without added pay or advancement to control in their classroom. Teachers at my child time are basically baby sitters. All we practically truly get to do is sit in a chair and watch the kids, when food comes put it on the table, when they finish eating wipe it up and clean them no matter how old they are. -no training. My training to be a lead teacher with no degree or experience was them having me watch a safety protocol video and saying good luck you'll get the hang of it. I was not given any training on how to run a classroom, I was not educated legally to be a lead teacher, I was not shown any help or support, but I was openly criticized and reprimanded for things I was never trained on or had any control over -unfair write ups. I can understand being written up for being out of uniform or continuously being late but I was written up twice in my first two weeks for not having better control of the children in my classroom. Mind you the same classroom that had 3 lead teachers and 4 assistants in two months because of how terrible the children were.
