New teacher again .

Ihaveabomb

Hi everyone long time reader first time poster, basically my little girl started junior infants in September and when she started her teacher was pregnant and started maternity leave in November. I can't complain about that everyone is entitled to start a family so a new teacher started and this week my little one has had to stay home due to being sick and my other half got a text saying there will be a new teacher for my daughter's class this week. I am quite annoyed about this am I over reacting I don't think it's fair on not only my child but every other child that they have to get used to three teachers in the space of a few months , I want to complain to the school but I'd like to know if I'm worried for nothing. Sorry my grammar is awful by the way.

mordeith

Do you know why there is another teacher? Perhaps the maternity cover is sick. Either way I wouldn't worry unduly about it.

Ihaveabomb

mordeith wrote:

Do you know why there is another teacher? Perhaps the maternity cover is sick. Either way I wouldn't worry unduly about it.

I seen the maternity cover teacher enjoying herself in the local pub on Facebook yesterday so if she's sick she is recovering well. I wasn't given a reason no-one was just the class is getting a new teacher.

elefant

Ihaveabomb wrote: »

I seen the maternity cover teacher enjoying herself in the local pub on Facebook yesterday so if she's sick she is recovering well. I wasn't given a reason no-one was just the class is getting a new teacher.

Maybe ask the school? How can we know if you're overreacting, we've no idea what happened any more than you do.

Ihaveabomb

elefant wrote:

Maybe ask the school? How can we know if you're overreacting, we've no idea what happened any more than you do.

I mean am I over reacting that there will be a third teacher in only a few months or is it just something that happens .

zindicato

when you were growing up, did you care who the teacher that was in front of you inside the class room?, naaaaaah, junior infant's i have one too , having different teacher doesnt really rate on top of thier worries ,if you ask them what matters in school would probably be, whats in their lunch box, who they are gonna play with at recess, if they could have sweets after dinner, if they could borrow your phone or your tablet after school...

Ihaveabomb

zindicato wrote:

when you were growing up, did you care who the teacher that was in front of you inside the class room?, naaaaaah, junior infant's i have one too , having different teacher doesnt really rate on top of thier worries ,if you ask them what matters in school would probably be, whats in their lunch box, who they are gonna play with at recess, if they could have sweets after dinner, if they could borrow your phone or your tablet after school...

Funnily enough I told her this morning and she is still upset about it says she isn't going back to school.

Quandary

Sure it's not ideal, but I wouldn't worry about it. Changes happen all the time with teaching staff and there could be a variety of different reasons for it. Kids adjust very quickly, particularly at that age, and often times the new teacher covering maternity leave will be more eager and enthusiastic.

That new teacher might have left because she got a better or more suitable offer in another school. Junior Infants isn't everyone's cup of tea. Subbing is absolutely booming at the moment and many schools are finding it difficult to even get a sub these days.

I'm a primary school teacher in a Dublin and this is certainly the case in my school.

jlm29

It's not ideal, but it's not the end of the world either. It's probably pointless complaining to the school, if a temporary staff member hands in their notice, there's not much they can do other than replace them with someone else.
The first temp teacher might have got a longer contract, something closer to home, or just something that appealed to her more. Nothing anyone can do about it really.

Ihaveabomb

jlm29 wrote:

It's not ideal, but it's not the end of the world either. It's probably pointless complaining to the school, if a temporary staff member hands in their notice, there's not much they can do other than replace them with someone else. The first temp teacher might have got a longer contract, something closer to home, or just something that appealed to her more. Nothing anyone can do about it really.

Well I've made my decision , I won't be sending her back to that school and I'll send her to a better school where the teachers care enough to stay

blade1

Ihaveabomb wrote: »

Well I've made my decision , I won't be sending her back to that school and I'll send her to a better school where the teachers care enough to stay

Would that not be harder on her?
Has she made new friends?

happywithlife

Ihaveabomb wrote: »

Well I've made my decision , I won't be sending her back to that school and I'll send her to a better school where the teachers care enough to stay

You will encounter the same problem elsewhere imo
It's not the end of the world and I think she may be picking up on your annoyance / anxiety more than anything.
JI are so adaptable. It may be that they're getting a trainee teacher on block release in as well as the sub- sub might have elective surgery booked this week and is entitled to be "in the pub" during midterm - there's a mired of plausible reasons. Personally I think you're overreacting and need to let things settle a bit and go with the flow a bit more. Don't be asking your little one about teacher but rather on her enjoyment of her day in school with her friends

dazed+confused

Ihaveabomb wrote:

Well I've made my decision , I won't be sending her back to that school and I'll send her to a better school where the teachers care enough to stay

That's it, teach her that if she doesn't like something after a few months that she can just quit!

I really don't think a bit of change this early on in her education will do much harm at all.

granturismo

Ihaveabomb wrote: »

Well I've made my decision , I won't be sending her back to that school and I'll send her to a better school where the teachers care enough to stay

Do you have a choice of schools that will take your child into junior infants half way through the school year?

If the sub teacher was given another job with a longer contract then its not the school's fault if the sub choose to move.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Think you've entered the realm of over reaction now op.

noodler

Ihaveabomb wrote: »

Well I've made my decision , I won't be sending her back to that school and I'll send her to a better school where the teachers care enough to stay

That makes absolutely no sense.

Schools have no bearing on a teacher leaving or getting pregnant.

elefant

Three teachers in a short time is too much change for a junior infant.

Better to move them to another new teacher and 30 new children in a new building.

Kathnora

And what will you do if a similar situation arises in the child's second school? Move her again? As others said, these things happen. It's not ideal. The Principal is probably not pleased that this has happened either. But sub teachers do move on when they get longer contracts and you can't blame them either. They too have rents to pay and mouths to feed.
I know of one school where a particular class had a run of teachers in subsequent years who went on maternity leave. Some of the parents complained that their children always seemed to get the pregnant teachers so the following year the class was assigned to a single teacher in her late 40s. Guess what?....she ended up missing school a bit through illness and subs were very difficult to find too.
So, that's life and so long as the children are being taught well parents shouldn't unduly worry themselves.

Owryan

Ihaveabomb wrote: »

Well I've made my decision , I won't be sending her back to that school and I'll send her to a better school where the teachers care enough to stay

Now that's an over reaction.

You're worried that having a new teacher with negatively impact your child, so to prevent this you are going to move her to a new school with a new teacher.

Not only that but you will be breaking any friendships in class she has made and will be dropping her into what will be a class full of strangers, who will already have their own established friendships

It would be ideal if she had the same teacher all along but what happens next September when she will more than likely have another new teacher?

You have no idea what the circumstances are around the new teacher and you are pulling your child out of the school.

Wesser

The teachers in this ' better' school will get pregnant, get sick, move county, move country, and get offered better contracts too.

Big Bag of Chips

First teacher got pregnant, as she is entitled to do. Second teacher most probably got a better/permanent job elsewhere. It happens. Judging by your post and your reaction I can only assume your daughter's anxiety and upset is coming from you. Children tend to take their cues from the adults around them on things. If they see we think it's no big deal, then it's no big deal. It's why you'll often see parents, teachers, youth leaders encouraging kids to do something they are unsure about. And it will always be done with positive, light language.

You need to do this with your child.

Otherwise you might be safer to homeschool her. You can't control her class teacher/s. She will likely have a new one every year until she goes to secondary where she will get 10 new ones all in week 1!

granturismo

Ihaveabomb wrote: »

I mean am I over reacting that there will be a third teacher in only a few months or is it just something that happens .

Maybe your partner, the english teacher, can explain the vagaries of teachers on temporary contracts.

zindicato

Ihaveabomb wrote: »

Funnily enough I told her this morning and she is still upset about it says she isn't going back to school.

ohhhh really? wow ,so she tells you that she doesnt want to go to school because there is a new teacher and she is upset and youll let her miss school..... well done... i mean you could take this as a lesson for her for adapting to changes or you can yank her out of school and look for another school ,you will definitely face a scenario like this again in the future anyways.... no matter where / which school you bring her ......, if you want consistency home school her, i mean she'll have you for life, if dad/ uncle or grandma replaces you one day cos your sick .....she can just quit too cos she is upset.

Cool_CM

Ihaveabomb wrote: »

I seen the maternity cover teacher enjoying herself in the local pub on Facebook yesterday so if she's sick she is recovering well.

In a pub? On a Friday? How dare she...

zindicato

Cool_CM wrote: »

In a pub? On a Friday? How dare she...

right lets ring the education board and the school to tell them that teachers are not allowed to drink on a FRIDAY after school, and Parents from now and on are not allowed to have tipple after work monday to friday, and on sunday cos the lord will get angry

Chuchote

Maybe the problem is with teachers' working conditions?

OP, it seems like you're reacting without finding out first what was the cause of the sub leaving. You need to talk to the school, and express your fears for your child.

But the trouble is that if a permanent teacher is on maternity leave, the people subbed in for temporary replacement are always likely to come and go, because they're generally people hoping to get a permanent job, but taking what work they can get in the meantime. The sub may live far away and find it difficult to commute, or may have had an offer of a permanent job, or may simply not like the people in the school and so have made an excuse to leave.

When the permanent teacher comes back, things should settle in again. What's best for your child is a good and stable teacher, yes, but also the child's whole society - friends, surroundings, ease of getting to the school, etc.

If you have a school that's close to where you live, and where your child is happy, it might be good to keep her there, where her friends will be local and where she doesn't have long daily journeys. (Neighbours of mine live within 30 steps of an excellent school, but have been refused a place for their child because "she doesn't have siblings in the school" and "she wasn't on the list in time"! It's not so easy to find and keep the perfect school!)

Zaph

Hi all. The OP has been sitebanned, so I'm going to close this thread to save wasting everyone's time.