I have my degree in ECE

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Home : 2004 : August : 26

I have my degree in ECE
By Sarah D.

I taught pre-school for a long time, I also worked with infants, 2's, 3's, toddlers, but now I teach kindergarten. There are some prejudices against pre-school teachers. We don't get paid as much, we don't get the same
respect because we're not, as you put it, "real teachers". I've even had someone go as far as to call me a babysitter. I stopped them cold in their tracks. I took 10 min. to put them in their place. First of all, babysitters are 14, 2nd of all I didn't spend all that time and money in college to be a babysitter. I explain, this is the career I've chosen. Then I take the time to show

them my intricate lesson plans and how I execute them. On top of which I'm worrying about behaviors, and maybe Johnny is eating paint, while Sally just had an accident, and the list goes on. It is a time consuming and emotionally draining job. But I love it! When anyone makes you feel less than what you are...please let them know the truth, stand up for yourself and our profession. It's about time we get the respect we deserve. We need to start making a name for ourselves here in the education world. I've tried so hard to instill in my teachers at my school now how important professionalism is to our profession. I'm trying very hard to instill the same mentality, that we are "real teachers".