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Antiwork

This is why there are no good daycare teachers left.

I'll start with that I worked in daycares for almost two years. For the moment, I will not name names, because the companies are really good, just specific locations gave horrible experiences. ​ My first daycare (partnered with a bank), back in Texas, was absolutely amazing and the people were the best coworkers I could ever ask for. Even when we only had 4 teachers after we reopened after COVID, I was allowed to call off for a mental health day, because they were accommodating my depression, even though they really didn't have to. I was only getting paid 10.50$/hr, but I loved every second of my workday, so I didn't mind. ​ Moved up to Iowa after around 8 months of being there, and just transferred locations since it was a big company (partnered with a hospital). Started at 11$/hr, and everyone was super nice, for the first month.…


I'll start with that I worked in daycares for almost two years. For the moment, I will not name names, because the companies are really good, just specific locations gave horrible experiences.

My first daycare (partnered with a bank), back in Texas, was absolutely amazing and the people were the best coworkers I could ever ask for. Even when we only had 4 teachers after we reopened after COVID, I was allowed to call off for a mental health day, because they were accommodating my depression, even though they really didn't have to. I was only getting paid 10.50$/hr, but I loved every second of my workday, so I didn't mind.

Moved up to Iowa after around 8 months of being there, and just transferred locations since it was a big company (partnered with a hospital). Started at 11$/hr, and everyone was super nice, for the first month. After a while, comments kept getting made at me and behind my back, gossiping was out of control, and even though I loved seeing my kiddos (I worked in the infant classroom), I couldn't stand being there.

I often had to call out due to illness, and got turned down lots of times. “I have an 100.6 F temperature right now, it's not safe for me to come in and be around infants.” They told me to take ibuprofen and come in, otherwise it'd be a mark against me. Left one day due to migraine and the constant need to puke. Got talked bad about. Called out because I was literally crying from pain and had to run to the ER. “Can you come in? We have no one to cover for you”. I literally had to contact the regional manager to get her to make my management to start doing the required daily covid checks that they weren't, and still got told to come in.

I wasn't allowed to call out, but I had a coworker calling out during a teacher shortage, and I was made to pull a 12 hour shift, open to close, with just one, one hour break (That I'm pretty sure got cut short because the teacher breaking me was needed elsewhere?) Eventually started getting less and less hours, and for my health, got moved to the preschool room when I asked, because I was in tears one day, after a really stressful day of being made to work by myself. The comments got worse, not just for me, but for everyone. Once I had a week where I was only scheduled for 8 HOURS. During NAPTIME. So no kids to interact or play with. Turned in my 2weeks the next day for a remote position. My last day of work, HR started calling all the employees to “finally meet them”, but really enough of us had reported our managers that they started investigating. (I was informed that the regional manager covered for them and so they were not removed from the positions.)

(Edit: I just checked, and the director and co-director of this center are actually gone! As are most the people I actually knew, but a lot of them were working on leaving when I was.)

2 months later, I missed working with kids, so I looked for new daycares. Ended up at another big company, like my last one, but making 14$/hr, which was still low, but much better pay. The teachers in the infant room seems really nice… but I started looking for a new job after the first week. Despite COVID, teachers were moved between rooms like crazy, even in the middle of their shifts. My co-teachers started talking bad about me to my director, and complaining about my habits instead of talking to me about it. One day, we got no afternoon bathroom breaks in the infant and toddler classrooms. I quietly brought this up to the co-director as I was headed out for the day, and got scolded the next day for being “assertive” and “disrespectful”. I later got told that “no gossiping is allowed. That's what breaks a team”, and then my directors next line was “[A] told me that [B] said that you..”

Since I'm not used to the cold, post-nasal drips have been very common since I moved, and so I brought it up during my lunch one day that I had one, and was promptly sent home and told not to come back without getting tested, which I guess is fair, except for the fact that I called and told the co-director that it would take maybe 10 hours for the results, to which she said “We'll assume we'll see you tomorrow then unless you call and say otherwise!” I got scolded the next morning as I tried to discreetly show my negative test to my director, and she said I was supposed to call and tell them I was coming.

They were in absolute disbelief when I told them that none of my other coworkers at my other two daycares have never had a problem with my behaviour and teamwork. They were the first to refuse to understand me and work with me on literally anything. Although.. they did say that they'd love to see me leading a classroom one day.. I am very confused about that still.

And one day I came in, after walking in the pouring rain, and left halfway through with signs of hypothermia, and they gave me a strike for leaving early, because I wouldn't let them call an ambulance and put me in even more medical debt than I was already in. When I turned in my “week and a half notice”, they went “We'd be more than happy to make it one week!” And I took it because I wanted to be gone more than they wanted me gone.

Now I'm working retail, and even though I do more physical labor than I did in the daycare field, I am much happier to be in a supportive place instead of a nightmare daycare.

I also ran into one of my coworkers from the last daycare, and they said that most of the preschool room was quitting because they hate it there, and they have no idea how the center even passed re-certification, because the teachers treat the kids horribly too.

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