Stumbling Through Work
Working in education is to stumble through your everyday! We love what we do, but staff, families, policies, regulations and sometimes even the children make us quit everyday then come back the next day. Just remember, you are not in this alone.
Stumbling Through Work
Naptime Narcotics: When Teachers Turn to Benadryl
A troubling case from Georgia reveals how a daycare lost its license after staff administered Benadryl to toddlers without consent, raising serious questions about trust and safety in childcare settings. Meanwhile, nearly $6.8 billion in federal education funding is being withheld, affecting critical programs for vulnerable student populations. Through a candid exploration of real-world scenarios, we offer practical guidance for keeping outside drama where it belongs - outside - and strategies for handling challenging situations with family members who may attempt to override parents' decisions.
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Welcome to Stumbling Through Work where educators figure shit out. I'm your host, jarek Huff, and I'm here to explore and share the complexities of our work and let you know you are not alone. Before we start, though, please follow this podcast and share episodes with others. You can find me on my website, wwwjerekhuffcom, where you can find links to my social media and where I share information and tips for educators. Now let's jump into today's episode. Hey team, welcome to another episode of Stumbling Through Work when Educators Figure Shit Out.
Speaker 1:Today's story comes from Monroe County, georgia. The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning has revoked the license of a Forsyth child care facility after a staff member administered Benadryl to toddlers without parental consent. Forsyth Methodist Church Caring for Kids Daycare Center Woo, that is a long name has been temporarily shut down since March due to the investigation. I mean, y'all told the whole name of the facility. So the chief communications officer said the license for Forsyth Methodist Church Caring for Kids Child Care Learning Center. Oh, my gosh, it even got longer the second time around located at ooh, they even told the address. I'm not going to do that to them. Yes, I am Located at 68 West Johnson Street was officially revoked on Monday, april 7th. The center has 10 days to appeal before an administrative law judge with the Office of State Administrative Hearing with one. The center may not reopen until the appeal process is completed. Due to the previous issue. Order of emergency closure the back story. And that's literally how they wrote it. The back story. And that's literally how they wrote it. The back story. They told her whole government name. We'll just call it by her first name Khadija Khadija was arrested on March 10th after reportedly giving Benadryl to toddlers, some as young as two years old, to make them sleepy during nap time.
Speaker 1:A co-teacher who witnessed the incident reported it to the director of the Bright from the Start program on March 5th. Bright from the Start is Georgia's Department of Early Care and Learning program that oversees child care facilities. Investigators say three children received doses on at least two separate occasions in early March, which was reportedly caught on camera. The daycare director, who they give out her full name to, kathy, that's what we'll call her, kathy and a second teacher they gave out her whole name, shelby. We'll just call her by first name. So Kathy and the second teacher, shelby, were arrested as well on March 18th. The director faces three counts of failure to report child abuse were arrested as well on March 18th. The director faces three counts of failure to report child abuse, while the teacher faces one count each of simple battery and cruelty to children. Investigators say the director waited up to six days to report the Benadryl administration incident.
Speaker 1:Benadryl is not recommended for children under six years old due to potential health risk. Parents later reported that the children appeared sluggish and not normal when they picked them up from daycare. All right, let's do what we do and let's break it down. Benadryl to toddlers without parental consent. It's the fact. For me it's these reporters, these journalists. I guess they report things, trying to give background information, I guess to everyone. I think people like us that are in the field, some of us, it's just a no-brainer. And the fact that he wrote Benadryl to toddlers without parental consent was no shit. I didn't need you to tell me that.
Speaker 1:But giving out Benadryl, I mean, what is up with these teachers just giving out drugs? I mean we already reported on the one where the teachers were giving the kids melatonin gummies and I guess they said in Monroe County, georgia, we're just going to up it up one and let's just go ahead and start giving them Benadryl. So they just giving them Benadryl to toddlers? I mean multiple questions because, like the article did say at the end, you know it's not recommended for children under six. So how are they knowing how much to give? Now, we all know somebody that gave their kids Benadryl when they were younger to get them to go to sleep. I'm not judging, but I'm judging. People do that, but you definitely cannot do that in a, you know, child care setting because we're not doctors, we're not nurses, we can't manage those things.
Speaker 1:But as I read through it, some things just didn't make sense to me. It reports a co-teacher who witnessed the incident reported it to the director of the Bright from the Start program. So basically, a teacher who witnessed the incident reported to the director of the Bright from the Start program. So basically, a teacher who witnessed the incident reported to the director of licensing is what I got. Why there has to be more to this? Because why the way that she reported it doesn't make sense. Not only did you not like report it to like a tip line, you reported it to the director of licensing like how did you get, how did you skip all of those wrongs to get to that place? That part of the story makes no sense then, like, did you not report it to the families? Did you not report it to the police?
Speaker 1:I'm trying to figure out if this was typically what happens is, when you report something to your child care licensing situation, they normally don't report that to the news. So, like how there are so many bits and pieces of this that don't make sense that I really want to know. You didn't report it to your director, which, as we find out later that the director, I guess, obviously knew about it, and you went straight to the director of licensing and then so I'm imagining that the director knew that they were drugging up the kids, that they were giving them, you know, the crack. It's just weird, cause I'm just like okay, did. Did the witnessing teacher know that the director knew and decided to go out somewhere else? Was there a time period like parts of the story don't make sense and then the director waited six days to report the incident to their child care licensing, which I have more questions about. The investigation of that, like was it did. Okay, how am I trying to say this, you all?
Speaker 1:If the teacher reported this to the director, I wonder, did the director do an internal investigation first and then reported to figure out all the results of what happened. What I would have done was just reported that it was. I would assume somebody said something to me. I just would have self-reported it, because I'm all about self-reporting, because you're not going to catch me slipping, so I'm going to self-report and say, hey, this is what I heard, that's going on and we are investigating the situation. I just want to let you know that this was already said. It's what should have happened.
Speaker 1:From the way it reads, it feels like she did some kind of internal investigation that took days and then, when she got to the answer, then she turned it in. But then when did home chick? When did homie report it to the director? This whole thing is crazy. It makes no sense, like none of it. And then there's a videotape. When do we watch the videotape? And like there's a lot of questions.
Speaker 1:And then for me, the person that wrote this line, parents later reported that their children appeared sluggish and not normal when they picked them up for daycare. I felt like they put that in there and it just wasn't necessary because they reported being sluggish. Like this was a crazy story, like there's so many bits and pieces to this, but let me tell you the whole point of the story is that the kids are doing crack. That's what it boils down to. Y'all are out here making these kids drug users, and they're the drug pushers and you're giving them the meth. That's what happens. That's the whole point of the story. I can't even fathom giving someone else's child medication. I don't even want to do the nebulizer when it's like cold in wintertime and these kids got trouble breathing. I don't even want to do that, let alone. We are here slinging meth to them, like I. I just don't understand.
Speaker 1:And then, for me, you're giving them the drugs to help them go to sleep, and I can guarantee that you're getting them to go to sleep and your ass ain't even doing anything in your classroom. You're not. Your ass ain't doing nothing. See, what's supposed to happen during nap time. For those of you all that don't know, nap time is supposed to be the time where you get a lot of shit done. So during nap time is when you're cleaning your room gets done, you're curriculum prepping, you're writing notes for families, you're putting up artwork, you're taking down old artwork, you're. You know there are a lot of things that you can be doing during this time. I know for sure they drugging these kids. They going to sleep and they ain't doing shit. They're not doing anything other than sitting there and watching them sleep and or sleep themselves. I guarantee it.
Speaker 1:Nothing about this says this was a functioning room, because if I ever drug child a children to go to sleep, my room would be the best. It would be clean. It would be immaculate like dang. This room is clean. This room is amazing. It looked like all the learning happened. They ain't doing shit there. They just out here, just giving kids meth for no reason. That is all that they're doing and I can guarantee it.
Speaker 1:So the thought of just giving kids drugs, I just I just do not understand like I just I just can't, um, and I really feel like even the punishments need to be way more severe than that, because a lot of these you don't understand or know, different things that families may not have expressed to you, so they could be things of maybe they're allergic to, maybe something that's in bedroom like. There are just so many things that we don't know and I think whatever the charges are or going to be are probably not even going to be detailed enough. It's just so sad that they're out here giving molly to these kids. It really is, and there needs to be more accountability and harsher penalties for things like this. But on this sad note, we'll actually be right back. We all want our schools or programs to be the best and although every school is different, all successful programs have the same fundamentals. Best Practices for High-Quality Preschool, afterschool and Enrichment Programs by Jarek Huff share standards to foster a high-quality program. These tips will help you put your best service forward, focusing on your children, families and communities. Best Practices for High-Quality Preschool, afterschool and Enrichment Programs by Jarek Huff is available on Amazon and Amazon Kindle. Welcome back.
Speaker 1:So in federal news, the Trump administration is holding back nearly $6.8 billion in federal funds for K-12 schools that was scheduled to come out in July or the beginning of July. The programs that are not receiving the money are Title I-C for migrant education, which was $375 million. Title II-A for professional development is $2.2 billion. Title III-A is for English Learner Services, which is $890 million. Title IV-A for Academic Enrichment is $1.3 billion, and Title IV-B is for Before and after school programs, which was about $1.4 billion. They're also holding back funds from adult basic and literacy education, which is about $729 million as well. Of course, we know there are going to be tons of lawsuits that come out against this, but let's talk about it, against this, but let's talk about it.
Speaker 1:I know when you hear those numbers like $6.8 billion is a lot. It definitely is a lot of money. In the grand scheme of things, a school receives about 8% to 12% of their funding from the federal government. So let's just average that out to about 10% of their federal funding. Sorry, about 10% of their funding comes from the federal government. So let's just average that out to about 10% of their federal funding. Sorry, about 10% of their funding comes from the federal government. The state gives about another 45 to 46% and then the local area gives about 43 to 44%. 10% is a lot. That's salaries, that's a lot of resources. That's one tenth of an operating budget. That's a lot of money. I do want to quickly go over what's not being funded and help people understand that, because I don't think people really know what that is.
Speaker 1:So your Title I C for migrant education is basically it helps children that have educational disruptions, children that have educational disruptions. So maybe children that are, you know, have health problems. It helps with you know, tutoring at home services or families where you know they may have migratory agriculture, so people that you know do fishing, farming, all of those things. Those resources help children stay in the correct learning bracket that they need to be in. The Title II-A for professional development is educational-based strategies to enhance academic achievement. Basically it helps teachers and leaders, so principals, curriculum coaches, all those things it helps give them evidence-based strategies to be better. And notice the keyword in there, I said, is evidence-based strategies. Your Title IIIa for ELL is obviously English language learners, so helping people with the concept of learning English, helping them and their families. Title IVa is for academic achievement, which it supports programs like art programs, music programs, stem programs, all of the actually I say is all of the things that the kids actually really like. It helps, supports those, but it helps things with mental health, preventing drug and violence, abuse, all of those type of things. And then you have your title 4b, which is um. It focuses on child abuse. It focuses on family preservation, foster care, adoption, kind of all those things.
Speaker 1:Is it me or does it ever feel like the government is doing an amazing job, trying to make a bunch of idiots run around in this country. I said it, it feels that way. And the dangerous part for me is I always tell my staff you always have to be aware of our interactions and how we're working and teaching our children, because they are going to be the ones that grow up and take care of us when we are old, when we are elderly, when we're in need, we are going to be relying on the children that did not receive Title I, title II, title III and Title IV benefits. So we're going to have a whole bunch of kids taking care of us that don't speak or have any form of English or broken English, and I'll be honest, I'm too damn old to be learning a new language, so I need you to kind of learn a little bit of English. And that's going to be my doctor me trying to tell them my symptoms and what's going on with me, and they just staring at me and then when I write stuff down, all they see is squiggle lines, dotted lines and circles. No, that does not work for me. You know we're going to have all of these broken children that have turned into broken adults with family, with family issues, things that could have been remedied in terrible situations, just more angry people than we have today. I bet you no one is really thinking about that, but that's going to be. Who take care of us Idiots? And no one is saying that out loud. This generation is going to be really sad and they're not taking care of me. I'm sorry they will not be taking care of me.
Speaker 1:No, we got to do better y'all. We definitely have to do a lot better. These schools need their money, because do not be hitting me up with a GoFundMe. Don't be hitting me up with a collection plate because I ain't got it. Do not look over here. I didn't pay my dues. I didn't pay my taxes. Do not be trying to hit me up for extra funding. No, I do not have it. Unacceptable. These people need to get their money so they not turn around and asking me hell, you already asked me for damn school supplies and that shit is expensive as it is. No, I don't know. Nope, not happening. Can you imagine a school district putting on a sheet of paper and sending out to you and saying we need for you to give us $50 to each person so we could pay this teacher's salary? Y'all? I would die if I seen that shit, but I would not be surprised, hell, the way they're asking for you to tip everywhere you go anyway. Pretty soon they're going to be asking you just to straight up be paying teacher's salaries, like no, I am not here for that shit. Federal government, run them coins because I am definitely not here for it. But this is a real, serious matter that people need to be aware of and understand how these things work. If you know someone that doesn't understand this, please send them this episode so they can hear all of these things and we'll be right back.
Speaker 1:I love sharing information with educators and program administrators. I have had so many successes, but also so many failures in my education tenure. I want leaders to know what not to do, but better than that, what to do, so I decided to write a helpful guide Best Practices for Center Program and Activity Directors. It's short and to the point. It's a compass to guide education leaders. These best practices will give you a foundation to lead your school program or organization. You can find best practices for center program and activity directors by Jared Cuff on Amazon or Amazon Kindle. Welcome back.
Speaker 1:One of the best practice tips I can give you is to leave outside drama outside If it has nothing to do with the actual day-to-day functions of the job. Leave it outside. Sometimes I know we want to be helpful, we to help people out. Nope, keep that shit to yourself. It ain't got nothing to do with me. I know sometimes I can come off cold, sometimes a little bit, and it's because I make a clear line between work and whatever you got going on at home. I sometimes don't even want to know. You know I've had people say well, I have this going on and this is happening and so forth, and this is going on and my true rebuttal has been so are you going to be at work tomorrow? All the reasons why I don't really care. And I know, like I said, that sounds terrible, but people will suck you into their outside drama and they will emotionally dump on you and then they will walk away and then you will be sitting there left with their problems. This shit doesn't make any sense and I don't think they most people don't intentionally mean to do that. It's just something that happens and they need to handle those problems outside of work, even if they are. Sometimes they may have been started at work.
Speaker 1:Here are two teachers that do not like each other. We're going to call one Rebecca, and the other Tina. Rebecca and Tina did not get along. Other Tina Rebecca and Tina did not get along. Long story short. Rebecca was fired for some stuff that she did. Rebecca didn't realize she was fired because we seen the stuff that she was doing. So when Rebecca was fired, rebecca thought that Tina had told on her which is a whole nother topic, that's a whole nother story on what happened that she didn't see. But back to the story. So catch you back up. Rebecca was fired and she thought it was Tina's fault. So they never had words at work, never said anything. They just did not like each other outside and they kind of knew that outside has nothing to do with us.
Speaker 1:Well, one day I'm at the school and tina calls and says rebecca's. I'm at mcdonald's up the street and rebecca's out here trying to fight me. Well, girl, what the hell you want me to do? Why are you calling me? That ain't got nothing to do with me. That's what I'm like, okay, and and she goes. I'm like well, call the police. I'm thinking why are you calling me? I ain't got nothing to do with this. And she goes um, well, I was just calling because I just wanted you to know what was going on. I'm like, well, girl, you better call metro, you better call the police and handle it. Then she fixes her mouth to say, okay, I'm gonna call them and I'm gonna make it to the school and I'll let them meet me there. The hell, you will no, you will not. I I fixed my face to say to her uh, no, you call them where you're at, because that's where the situation is that and you will not bring that here. Now. I don't know if the girl fought or not.
Speaker 1:I didn didn't really care enough to hear about the majority of the story. I just know it was more of. We'll just let you off work for the day. Don't be bringing that shit over here. Don't be bringing your outside problems to the inside of my business. Do not do that. See, that's that shit that I don't care about and I don't want to know. Why do you think that I wanted you to bring that down here, with the police coming here on an event that had nothing to do with us? So now there's police at the school, people watching all over y'all petty shit. That ain't. She don't. Rebecca don't even work here anymore. Why do we care? None of this has anything to do with us, but yet you keep trying to make it a problem for us, and though that's a little extreme of a case, that's how outside problems become inside problems. Don't allow that stuff to happen. That is the biggest thing. Leave that drama outside, and even if you had to have a conversation, I've had teachers that didn't get along from something that happens when they hang out, which I do not agree with.
Speaker 1:I don't agree with hanging out with staff when they come in. I have said I don't know what's going on, and I don't agree with hanging out with staff when they come in. I have said I don't know what's going on and I don't want to know what's happening. But while you're here, this needs to be happening. It needs to be a level of professionalism and this is where we need to go, and that's all that I'm going to say about it. I don't need the background story, I don't need the details, I don't care. You are here to do a job. I am not here to be your shrink. That is something for you and your therapist to figure out, not for me, and so that is one of the biggest things that I could tell someone else, tell other leaders to do is make sure outside drama is outside drama and that it's not impeding or inflicting on what's happening inside the building. And if you know someone that needs to hear this because there are lots of directors that I know that be trying to fix other people's problems it is not their job, it is not their responsibility please send them this episode, please send them this clip so they can hear that they need to have those conversations on keep that shit outside and don't bring it in, and I don't want to hear anything about it and if it does come in, you're fired and you're going to fire them the correct way and keep it pushing. That. Simple, simple and on that note, we'll be right back. If you're trying to tour and enroll new families or create a foundation for a high quality program or just be a better leader, the Best Practice Series books by Jarek Huff found on Amazon can help you in your program. Okay, we are back. Today's Reddit goes as this Yesterday, one of my kids got hurt and I didn't notice the nasty bruise until a parent pointed it out.
Speaker 1:This morning we figured out what happened at school and I documented it. The parent wasn't upset and understood, and I would keep an eye on things and update them. If anything changed. I handled it and moved on. Before nap, grandma came to say hi during my lunch break. I left and she was asking numerous questions about the incident. Was I supposed to tell her that the child was hurt? I already spoke with the parent, managed the situation and the other teachers informed her of this too.
Speaker 1:It's just frustrating because grandma, who sometimes override parents' decisions, especially about food, and I finally did tell the parents what she had been doing can be a challenge. I'm not seeking advice. This kid is about to move out of my room. I'll update the next teacher and parents about the preferences. It's frustrating to have to set boundaries and feel caught in family dynamics, but this won't last much longer.
Speaker 1:Well, let's do what we do best and let's break it down. First off, when you said Reddit lady said I would keep an eye on things and update them if anything changed to me. That just said something happened. Nobody was paying attention and you're gonna be watching, which says to me even further somebody's kid hit another kid and nobody's seen it. But okay, I can figure that out and we going to keep this story moving along. It's the.
Speaker 1:Grandma came to say hi to me thing. So grandma, is grandma just popping in there randomly? Does grandma have a life? Is grandma retired? Is grandma working at Walmart greeting? What is grandma doing? That she can just come in randomly and just be like just saying hi, grandma needs something to do and somebody need to let her know. So grandma comes in and she's saying hi and she's trying to figure out what happens. Okay, my first thought that this is a teacher telling a story. Where the hell is the director and manager through all of this? That's what I need to know. Why is the teacher having these in-depth conversations with the, with the parent, without a manager being present, and why is the manager not stopping this grandma from just doing what she wants to do?
Speaker 1:This sounds like the teachers are running the school and not the administrators, because I don't understand how this is happening. I truly do not understand it, and I get it. Some, you know, family members want to go directly to the teacher. But how was administration not a part of this? Where are they at? Where are their antennas, as all of this is going on and then grandma's making decisions? No, somebody need to pull grandma to the side and say this exact phrase.
Speaker 1:Yes, I actually spoke with dad about this earlier, about the situation. I gave him all the updates so I know he can update you about all of those things that happened. But actually I'm about to go back to my classroom and make sure that I'm, you know, dealing with my children, make sure I'm, you know, go back to teaching and you have a good day, and I'm keeping it pushing. It really is that simple. See y'all be giving. I guess grandma be making them. Grandma must be giving them the flux and make them nervous. That's what sounds like, what the problem is. Grandma sounds like like she overbearing and she needs something to do. I told y'all she can go and start greeting people at Walmart. Grandma needs something to do. That's what the issue is. She needs something to do with her time because if she just coming by and just saying hi and she all in these people business, but she's overriding what the parents are saying.
Speaker 1:There's a lot happening to unpack in this situation. First off, the parents are not pissed Because it's like if I told you to do something and you didn't do it. And then grandma nah, we're not about to play this game, we're not doing this. Whoever the legal guardians are are the ones if they drop off and pick up. That's who these conversations are being had with and I'm going to redirect them to that person. That way, it takes you out of the mess. But also you're establishing boundaries of don't come over here with this foolishness, girl, because I don't have time for it, and if you catch me on the right day, I may have time for it.
Speaker 1:Either way, it's not beneficial for you. You need something to do and you're distracting me from my class at this time and, even though homie is not asking for advice, I'm giving you advice. You need to pull one of those. Actually, you can go speak with the director about the situation. They could tell you more about what happened and now you put the ownership on the management, which is their responsibility to do, and let them handle it so that it so that it is forever broken down and done. That's how I would have handled this situation.
Speaker 1:But y'all letting grandma do what she want to do I can tell that from this one paragraph Y'all just letting her go in, out, however she want to, going around saying, hi, grandma needs something to do. Y'all, grandma needs something. But I want to thank you all for today's episode. I want to thank you all for listening. I want to thank you all for supporting and I want to thank you all for just hearing my thoughts and I will talk to you all soon. That's it for today. If you like this episode, it would mean so much to me if you left a rating review and subscribe to the show. I love to hear from you. You can visit my website, which is in the show notes, to contact me, and I hope you have a great rest of your week and speak to you all soon.
