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
Stickers and Sleepy Kids
When four-year-old Lane smuggled home a mysterious sticker, the episode dives deep into the ethical boundaries being crossed in early childhood settings and why even challenging classroom behaviors never justify administering substances without parental consent.
Through real-world scenarios and practical advice, this conversation provides a compassionate yet honest look at the complexities educators navigate daily while advocating for both children's wellbeing and teacher support systems. This episode delivers a compelling mixture of shocking realities, practical solutions, and the reassurance that you're not alone in stumbling through the complex world of education.
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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, wwwjarekhuffcom, 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 where educators figure shit out.
Speaker 2:Today, I bring another story from Texas, so let's talk about it. This is four-year-old Lane Luviano. She's the one that broke this case open in September when she snuck one of her sleepy stickers out of the classroom. She kind of pulled up her little shorts and said Mom, look, this is my sleeping sticker. I was like the what. When Lane's mom, lisa, saw the sticker, she thought it was strange and asked her daughter about it. And the teacher gives it to you where she put it? On my arm. And what's it look like? Um, sleepy, with a moon on it.
Speaker 2:Lane's dad says he's known something was wrong since school first started. They never notified the parents. So Lisa took matters into her own hands. She reached out to the other parents in Lane's class and sent them pictures of the patch to see if their kids were getting the stickers too. I showed it to my four-year-old and she said yes, that's the sleepy sticker, and if you read the ingredients on them, it has a lot of. I mean, it's just things I've never even heard of. And they're giving them drugs to make them sleep, to keep them quiet. Najala Abdullah tells us she noticed changes in her son, who told her he'd been getting the stickers too. She says he'd been crying, stopped eating and was bringing home lunches that he hadn't touched. You think it could be a crime? Most definitely, yeah, this is.
Speaker 1:Okay. So first off, I just want to say that this was a news video and I'm not making light of the situation, but they didn't have to show the kids in the car seat with a mouth wide open. Sleep like that was so extra. I couldn't even be serious about it because I'm too busy looking at Janine with her mouth wide open as she sleep. But all right, let's break this down. Janine with her mouth wide open as she sleep but all right, let's break this down.
Speaker 1:We've had an episode before where we have talked about teachers giving gummy melatonin to children. It's definitely wrong, it's all the way unacceptable. But well, there is no. But it's wrong for me, it's the upgrading. So, first off, when I've seen the sleepy stickers, I was like, let me go see what the stickers actually consist of. And they contain essential oils designed to promote relaxation and sleep by triggering receptors in the nose, and some of them have melatonin in them and some of them do not, so they're releasing essential oils. So the way my brain thinks was Wow, y'all went from like being the drug suppliers for the children by giving them gummies. Now they're snorting the drugs. So now they have elevated to cocaine, so we are now giving our children cocaine in the classrooms to let them get to bed, let them go to sleep. I am definitely not here for it. Um, like, like the lady was saying, there's so many things that are in it. You don't know what a child is, is, has a reaction to, what they're're allergic to. You don't know any of that. Sometimes the parents, sometimes they don't. It's a trial and error, but you can't be doing stuff like that.
Speaker 1:Now, dear teacher, how long did you think you were going to get away with this? I'm not condoning this behavior. I'm gonna say, if I was to do something illegal, and knowing that it was illegal and it was wrong, you do it like one time. It's like robbing a bank. You rob a bank one time. You don't do it over and over again, because that's how you get caught.
Speaker 1:If you didn't get caught the first time, you are here distributing stickers, you're not going to be able to keep watching them every day. Like the first. You've probably been doing it all semester. To tell you the truth, you probably were. And then you got comfortable and you got lazy and you forgot to get a sticker from somebody and they didn't took it home. That's one of those things you do one time. It is like a. It's a uh, you know what they they? They get on my nerves, they bad. That's a one-time thing, lady, not for you to be continuously doing it.
Speaker 1:And I am not condoning what she did. I just want to be very clear. I am not condoning, I'm just making light of the situation. But, um, I can understand where she coming from a little bit, because you know these kids be bad and I know, once again, we're not supposed to say that. But let's be honest, some of these kids is bad and they're bad because of their parenting and their parents are doing gentle parenting.
Speaker 1:I do not believe in gentle parenting. I'm just gonna be honest. It is a crock of shit. I do not believe in it because, to me, gentle parenting equals weak parents and nasty acting children. That's what it equals. Your kids got a nasty attitude and then the parents are just weak. That's, that's all that gentle parenting is to me.
Speaker 1:And, yes, I am a believer in giving children. You know options. You know you have the option to sit down or you have the option to sat down. Which one do you want to do? Those are the options that I give. But all this gentle parenting and going back and forth with the child and I ain't doing that shit, I'm not doing that. Uh, no, no, no. So then they have all this gentle parenting then by the time that it gets to the school.
Speaker 1:Now the teachers and the staff are all having to deal with this nasty ass um attitude that this kid has given them, because the parents are weak, like I get why they get frustrated, but it's a parenting thing and you have to adjust how you do in the classroom so that you can have better classroom management and authority within your room so that you are not giving the children cocaine to snort up their nose. You just cannot do that, though it makes us, it's, it's almost. Huh, how can I say this? I didn't see gummies. Excuse me, I didn't see sleepy stickers on my bingo cards today that I did not see. Uh, that this is a thing and that people are doing so. If you are doing it, stop doing that. That just sounds like classroom management and just be old school. Where they ass out, take them out to the playground, let them run around for an extra 30 minutes to get that out of their system so they take a good nap. What happened to the old schools are doing that. When did we? When did we resort to meth, to meth snipping, when did this? Okay, but anybody see here talk about, um, this lady's decisions all day. But um, yeah, we talked about that, so don't be giving out the sleepy stickers. It was the. Yeah, I get those at home. I get those too when I'm at school, like it's just wrong on so many levels and um, we'll be right back.
Speaker 1: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. All right, we are back with our asking for a friend section.
Speaker 1:The first question is what would you say or do if you are new? I just started a new teaching job and had orientation last week. I learned that my class will have threes, fours and fives all in one class of 14 kids. My co-teacher, who has been there for five years, is not happy about the arrangement and I'm not either. We are not a Montessori school, but a Reggio Emilia inspired school. So I just learned that we have a mixed age group and that we don't have anyone to cover our rooms if we have to use the bathroom or if we need to go to break, which means that one of us will be alone with 14 kids need to go to break, which means that one of us will be alone with 14 kids. There is no planning time. Our breaks are only 20 minutes and if we, if we work eight hours and if we work six hours, it's 15 minutes. Between the news of our mixed age groups, lack of coverage, no planning time and a short lunch break, I'm not impressed or happy.
Speaker 1:What would you do if you were in this situation? Would you leave? There was a lot to unpack there, so let's start unpacking. Um, so you're not a montessori school but a reggio amelia. So for you all that don't know, those are philosophies and curriculums. Uh, montessori is a curriculum which tends to be the thing most people know and hear, and Reggio Emilia kind of similar but a little different. But I enjoy different aspects of them. But for me it's when she said inspired school we are Emilia inspired, which lets me know y'all are just appropriating parts of the curriculum. Because you said you are inspired, meaning I liked a little bit of the idea. I'm just going to take a piece of it which I'm cool with, because I do a lot of shit like that too. I don't believe in it full-heartedly, but you know it has a few little aspects. So she said they're an inspired school. This, this is what did it.
Speaker 1:For me, if we have to use the bathroom or we need to go on break, that means one of us will be alone with 14 kids. Now I'm curious what your ratio is, because if you said three, fours and fives, in some places your ratio can be one to 13, one to 14, just kind of depending on what the state that you live in. So that still actually could be applicable where it is one to 14. So there is nothing wrong with that. Actually could be applicable where it is 1 to 14. So there is nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 1:But for me, going deeper, the no planning time our breaks are only 20 minutes. Girl, where do you live at that? You can only get a 20 minute break every eight hours. Please message me to let me know where you, where you are at, because that sounds illegal. 20 minutes for eight hours, girl, that don't even sound right. And then she follows it up with 15 minutes. If we were at six hours, what and what satan land are you working in? What is happening? My first thought as I read the whole thing. I said what happens if y'all call out and y'all not there? Then what happens then? Just, the kids are just running the school, like running the class. But she also said something earlier. She said uh, you have anyone to cover our rooms? Was that a typo or are there multiple rooms? I have more questions.
Speaker 1:But what would I do for me, girl, I'm out and this is why I'm out, not because of the three, four mixed age groups. That's the thing I feel like at some point you've had to know that or somebody known that. I just feel like that's filler not necessary for me. It's the, it's the lunch breaks, it's the illegal activity at the breaks. Because if you are willing to be illegal and break and not give me the break that I need, then how are you supporting me? That lets me know that I can't do anything by myself. The 1 to 14, like I said, that's a little. But the break thing for me, because everybody needs a break, especially being around children. They drive you, they I had to think about what I said before I said it but they have a way of driving you crazy some days. Some days you're just like, is it a full moon out? Like these little shit has to get on my nerves and that's normal to say because that's how you feel. Sometimes people need their break in their time to step away from their classrooms. So what would I do? I will say thank you, but no thank you, and or. These are my terms and my conditions for continuously being employed with you.
Speaker 1:So next question is having a day where it seems multiple parents forget this is daycare. I love each and every one of these kids. They're awesome. They're amazing. I totally get that. They are the center of their parents world. But, my God, today is a day where I think they forget I have multiple centers of other people's worlds. I cannot give your child one-on-one attention all day long. They have to be part of a group setting. That means they can't be the one running the show, calling all the shots, having everything be about them. I get why the kids may struggle with learning to being a part of a group. But the adults should just understand.
Speaker 1:We talk about this, we set the expectations and then, without fail, you have the parents who try to make their child the exception, then pout and act like they're the toddler when you uphold the boundaries you set for them. I'm just tired. This isn't a nanny service, this is a daycare. Your child can be sorry, I got confused when I read the word daycare. You know, um, for those of you that don't know, I don't like the word daycare. Um, your child can be the center of your universe, but I can't put them at the center of everyone else's. How else then she goes? How everyone else's day going? Uh, and I exactly 100 agree with you, and that's a hard thing for a lot of parents. And after you set the expectations, after you tell them how it was going to go, for some of them it is not easy, and this is where you need to really rely on your administrators to figure out who your director, to have those type of conversations, just to follow up, to say, within our whole group, this is how this is going to go, this is going to go, and sometimes and I recently had this happen at a school where we had to tell a family maybe you need to find alternative care. That's my uppity way of kicking people out. Um, when I say, instead of saying this ain't gonna work, you know, I clean it up and dress it up really nice and I go. Well, maybe you need to find alternative care because, uh, the way our program is, this isn't going to work for you. So maybe a nanny service will work with you with which is a one-on-one, and usually I get the rebuttal of well, I can't afford a nanny, and I'm thinking of my brain. Well, that's why your ass is here. So that is an administrator conversation that needs to be had with that family so that they understand that these are the classroom rules, this is how it's set, and if this isn't the type of environment that you're looking for for your child, then you need to find alternative care. Moving forward and we are going to end on the last one Sick, sick, sick.
Speaker 1:I am so over it. Oh, that rhymed. It's like a dr seuss situation. The kids are all sick, 99 to 100 degree temperature, but since it isn't just a tad bit higher, they get to stay. They are crying and coughing and miserable, but their parents aren't coming at this center. 90 of the parents work from home and have old money. Okay, I I know I'm getting written up tomorrow for a late call out, but I simply couldn't do it yesterday. I try getting ready but I am too sick to properly care for the kids today. I know it's going to get worse as fall comes and I find it so cruel to the teachers. Our health comes last and I'm over it. I have my own family, I have my own life. Other teachers have mentioned maybe if we all call out sick, then the center and parents will get it through their thick skulls that they need to keep sick kids home or else they have no teachers. Okay, well, there's definitely a lot to unpack.
Speaker 1:First off, I want to say, as this lady I can assume has probably been in the field for a long time, just like me, and I can recognize the signs and symptoms of something. But at the end of the day, I am not a physician. I cannot say the kid has this and the kid has that. What I can say is I'm seeing signs of this, I'm seeing signs of that, so I'm going to leave that right there and come back to it on parking that for a second. So let's go back to when she said our kids are sick 99 to 100 degree temperature. For those of you that don't know, most health departments require the child to have a temperature of 101. So that's what she meant by they can still be there because they haven't hit that threshold for the temperature. They'll be there because they haven't hit that threshold for the temperature.
Speaker 1:Now, I'm not saying that. You know you want to fabricate things, but if you are good at your job and you know signs and symptoms, what you can say is I'm coming back to what the area that I parked right now it looks as if your child has is running a cold, or maybe has the flu or RSVP. I'm not sure, but I am seeing the signs and symptoms of that and because we are seeing the signs and symptoms of that, I need them to get a doctor's note for when they can return. That's what you can do. That's how you do it. I didn't make up an element. I seen signs and symptoms of a cold or the flu or svp or covid or whatever disease that's popular this week. Um, that's what I would do and that's how you get them home now.
Speaker 1:Also, what is your cleaning procedures, because, if you know, as soon as I see a kid come in glassy eyed and carrying on, we are cleaning today, everything's getting sanitized and we're doing this every single day because that really is going to keep down your infections and I know, especially right now, we're about to. It's in september right now, so we're about to be on that season of cold flu, rsv, covid, everything else that's about to be brewing. You want to make sure that your cleaning procedures are the best, but girl it was the line for me and maybe we all should call out girl, that shit ain't gonna work, that shit is not gonna work because, guess what, that ain't gonna change them damn parents mind, because they say we got to go to work and all that is doing is going to create a worse situation for you all, because now you're either going to be missing out on tuition, which means now you're not going to be getting supplies that you need, because money just for ec does not just fall out the sky, it has to be earned, so you actually be creating a worse situation and or parents just wouldn't want to come drop off and then you're getting sent home and you have no hours and you're crying that you broke and that was everybody else's fault, that you don't have the money because y'all played this game, and when you play stupid games you win stupid prizes. So do not go down this avenue. But that is how I would phrase these type of situations. Like I'm seeing signs and symptoms and everybody can get it that day. You know what everybody in todd's was showing signs and symptoms today. So, uh, we're going to ask that you know. You go home or you can send out an email before and say, hey, we're just noticing, um, there are a lot of children coming in with coughs, because that is a one good one too is cough. You did say cough and you put that out as an email. Then the next day, if people are still coming in, then you let them know like, hey, because we are seeing signs and symptoms of cough which looks like rsv, we're going to need for you to take them to your pediatrician so that you can get a clearance to come back. Whatever it may be. I'm not quite sure what your licensing and health policies are where you are, but for me that is ours and that's kind of how we navigate that weird sickness thing, so than that we will 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. 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 Huff on Amazon or Amazon Kindle. Here's our interview corner for today.
Speaker 1:You asked the question. Give me a specific example of a time you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree, and they respond with well, you know what I told my boss? I don't believe in this shit and I'm not going to do it. And they said it with their whole chest Do not hire them. Do not hire them, but some of y'all will, because you hire out of desperation.
Speaker 1:The question is asking about how you communicate. Did you confront your boss? Did you avoid the situation? Now it is a trick question and that's why I like it as a trick question. It gives me a lot of insight into your personality, because let's say you did something, let's say something was unethical, so now was it unethical and you did it anyways. And if you did now, are you OK with being unethical? You see how that's a trick question. See how you can just keep playing with that one. Or did you not want to confront I'm sorry, did you not want to conform because you knew better? You said I'm not going to do this because I know better than my boss. And so now, if you tell me that now I'm thinking you talking shit about your boss to me like it really is a trick question.
Speaker 1:But what I would love to hear someone say is sorry, I can't think of a time where that happened. I think that is a perfectly amazing answer. That's a great answer. There is nothing more that needs to be said. I can't think of a time. But let's say you keep pressing them going. Are you sure there's not a time and you keep going? Then you can think and say something clever like well, I think I've probably asked questions before or you know I've expressed concerns, as it's my job to support my coworkers, and this includes spotting potential problems before they become problems. See how I did that shit. See how I did that shit. I didn't talk shit about nobody and said exactly what needed to be said. That's what I'm looking for in an interview.
Speaker 1:But when you got somebody that said I just don don't do this shit, and they meant that from the bottom of their soul Don't hire they ass. Do not hire they ass. But you will, because y'all hire out of desperation. Sad, sad, sad. But now it is policy time and remember, something became a policy because someone then messed the shit up for all of us Disciplinary procedures. Why is this a policy? This is a policy because Brenda is always doing some crazy shit and needs to be checked. Y'all been letting Brenda get away with everything that she wants to do and no one says shit to her. Brenda cusses out the kids. Brenda's late. Every day. Brenda smokes in the restroom, in the kids restroom on top of it. Then her breath smells like peppermint and Hennessy when she comes back from lunch and y'all be letting the shit go Because nobody ever checks Brenda. First question how do we fire Brenda? How do we get rid of her? Well, that's why you have disciplinary procedures for me.
Speaker 1:I am a four-person structure. You got three times with me on that fourth time you're gone and most places are the same. You kind of have like a verbal kind of conversation, even though your verbal technically is written. But whatever, I digress on that. You kind of have like your verbal like hey, it's informal, just just want to let you know that. You know you can't be cussing at the kids. Ok, let's find another example, because that's an automatic like. That's an automatic goodbye.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about your tardiness. So you can't be tardy, ok. Ok, girl, you were late today. I'd call you to call your ass to the carpet. You cannot be coming in here late. You're supposed to be here at eight o'clock. You rolled in here at 815. That is unacceptable. Brenda Steele is not on time to work.
Speaker 1:So now Brenda gets a written. Ok, girl, I know we kind of talked about this. You get an official written like the last one was like written like kind of like low key, like it was like written like kind of like low-key, like it was like a little sloppy handwriting. You know maybe, uh, maybe written in print. You know regular, but now you're getting something written. You're getting this in my good cursive writing now.
Speaker 1:That's saying brenda, you've been spoken to about your tardiness and you have not been on time. I'm gonna need you to be on time at eight o'clock. That's time number two. Time number three I'm tired of playing with brenda's ass, so now brenda's getting her final. Oh, you playing with me. Okay, brenda, we've had this before. I've written this, so this is your final notice, just letting you know. If this happened one more time. We are letting you go. Brenda, keep playing with me. Guess what brenda did? Brenda tried to pass, go and collect 200 dollars, but she didn't realize that she's going straight to jail because I didn't gave you three chances. So that last one is Brenda. Here's your termination. I'm gonna need you to for you to find alternative work, because it's not gonna work. And now Brenda is gone.
Speaker 1:That is how your disciplinary procedure should work now there, of course, there are things that are, you know, automatic termination, like for me, losing a kid, like you left a kid outside. That is automatic termination. Goodbye, you gotta go. You've lost an entire human being. Or if you are cussing out the kids. Or if you come back and you smell like weed and Hennessy when you came back to work from lunch. There are definitely things that are automatic, that you know.
Speaker 1:We're not going to sit here and go through the process. But for smaller things you use the process depending on how your structure and company situation is. You could just automatically go to buy girl, you just got to go, like you just walk back in. We ain't doing this shit no more. Goodbye, you work on my nerves, I'm working your nerve. We just not going to see eye to eye so your eyes can go see the unemployment line. That is a thing.
Speaker 1:So please make sure that you are using your disciplinary procedures and that is all that I have for you all this week. So, with that being said, I've told you all about giving the children cocaine. Do not give the children cocaine this week. Make sure your staff gets more than a 20 minute break. I'm still trying to figure that out, but please do not do that and please understand and use your disciplinary procedures. And somebody, please fire Brenda and I'll talk to y'all later. Bye, 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'd 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.
