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
Grandma Is Not Helping And One Glove Is Not For Everyone
A daycare sends a Saturday-night email announcing it’s closed effective immediately, and by Monday morning parents, teachers, and an entire neighborhood are scrambling. We dig into what sudden closures reveal about the state of childcare: budgets stretched to breaking, staff underpaid and undervalued, and families forced to choose between a paycheck and their kids. We tackle a grim hygiene shortcut—reusing gloves during diaper changes—and lay out the non-negotiables for health and licensing. We also share a clear playbook for leaving an unstable job with professionalism and zero guilt when your hours aren’t guaranteed. And yes, we talk about the tour from hell, where a director left a preschool class unsupervised for nearly an hour—why that violates supervision standards and what it says about capacity and leadership.
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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 to 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 www.jerickhuff.com 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. You guys have to hear this story. I I just cannot make this up. Hold on, take a listen.
SPEAKER_00:What would you do if you suddenly lost childcare? What if you lost your job over a weekend? Those are the questions that people a part of KidLink Learning Center are having to answer now. I'm your Wes Boise neighborhood reporter Isaiah Sharp, and parents and employees are looking for answers after a local daycare abruptly shut its doors.
SPEAKER_03:We trusted KidLink with our babies. The most precious thing you have. A slap in the face to get an email after trusting your kids to them.
SPEAKER_00:Emily Brown is a mom and a nurse who relies on childcare.
SPEAKER_03:I want to be there for my patients and my kids, and not having daycare really gets in the way of that.
SPEAKER_00:She, along with many other parents, was shocked after receiving notice on Saturday that their daycare wouldn't be open the following Monday or any day after that. Effective immediately. Closed indefinitely.
SPEAKER_02:I deserve more respect as an employee, so everybody else that worked here. It's not fair.
SPEAKER_00:Callie Sue Costello is a junior at Centennial High School who had been with Kid Link for two years until the announcement over the weekend.
SPEAKER_02:I get if you want to close your center, that's fine. The staff should know. Don't send out an email and not tell anybody. But like I work for you. You should have the respect to tell me when I won't have a job anymore.
SPEAKER_00:I attempted multiple times to reach out to Kid Link Learning Center, knocking on their door. It was locked, also calling them multiple times with no answer. Cassie also mentioned that staff members at Centennial High School had their kids with them on Monday because they didn't have a daycare to take them to. I'm your West Boise neighborhood reporter, Isaiah Sharp for Idaho News 6.
SPEAKER_01:Mm-mm. Okay. Couple things. Before we even break this down as we usually do, why did why did I need to know that the mom was a nurse? Like, what does that have to do with the story? So-and-so's mom, a nurse. Why the hell do I need to know that? But okay. My true red flag concern was the girl was a junior in high school and she was an employee. Kind of questionable, so she's about 16-ish. But then she already had been there for two years, so she's been working there since 14. What has she been doing? Oh, they said this was in Idaho. No comment. I'm gonna keep that keep that moving. For me, is when he said, I tried calling them, but they didn't answer. No shit, they closed. What what would you expect for them to answer? But when I seen that, I said, Oh gosh, I said, not a Saturday. I mean, could you imagine parents opening their email on Saturday like, oh look, it's a newsletter from our school, and then like basically it said, nope, it said, Dear families, due to unforeseen financial challenges, we would be closing our doors effective immediately. We appreciate your support and understanding. We apologize for any inconvenience, we wish you the best. Damn. I mean, you might as well said, just letting you know we're closed forever on Monday. Bye. Like, not a 30-day notice, not a final day party, not even a here's your child's artwork, come pick your shit up, just deuces on a weekend, on a Saturday night when people already have drinks in them. And then those poor teachers. I mean, not homie who's in high school, but the other teachers that actually, you know, have to work. Them teachers were like, ha ha, funny joke. We'll see you on Monday, and that preschool was like, ha ha ha, no, you won't. Like, it's just that's just horrible. But the sad part is this isn't new. Facilities are closing, but I mean I hope not like this, but facilities are closing at a lot of places. You know, childcare is treated like a luxury when it is literally the only reason why half of America can go to work. Childcare centers are closing everywhere because the centers are expensive to run, underpaid staff, overworked admin, and you know, the government's kind of like, can't parents just, you know, figure it out? No. But let's be honest. If if we're gonna truly be honest about the situation, parents are broke, teachers are broke, centers are broke, but Walmart isn't, Walmart is thriving, so let's just make that make sense. And I think that you know, preschool should be more honest. Like, welcome to Sunshine Academy, where tuition is twelve hundred dollars a month, teachers make twelve dollars an hour, our budget is held together with glitter glue, and if one toilet breaks, we're filing bankruptcy. Just saying. But this is for all of you out there, couple red flags. Just, you know, if you're if your center is having problems, that they're raising their rates every other week, because yes, they will do that because they're trying to make some extra money come in. Because running up running a school is expensive. If they start charging extra for things that should not that should be illegal, like if they're charging you for air, you know, for naps, things like that, might want to be a little bit aware. And if your director looks like they cry in a supply closet, they probably do. Those are your big red flags. But seriously, you know, this really pisses me off because parents are scrambling, teachers lost their jobs, the children have lost the stability of going to the same place every day, and it is a community. Uh, community has lost a resource, and it's sad because all because we kind of refuse to treat child care like it's a real part of the economy. We build and fund roads, we fund airports, we even fund pickleball courts. Whole other situation. I'm not gonna go down that rabbit hole. But we will not fund childcare, and then it's always those people that have nothing to do with child care, like Deborah, whose name is spelled like Deborah, whose kids are completely grown and says, Well, have you tried asking the grandparents? No, Deborah. Grandma got a life. Grandma ain't trying to raise these kids, grandma ain't trying to wash these kids, grandma said take them kids to preschool. But see, what people don't realize, this is the gag, is that when childcare collapses, everything else does as well. Businesses lose workers because at the end of the day, people are gonna choose their kids before they choose a job. Kids lose learning, parents lose their sanity. Y'all remember what it was like during COVID when everybody was staying at home with their kids and it was driving them crazy. And then what happens is teachers find other jobs and then they walk away forever. I keep making the joke that all the good teachers now work at Amazon because they left and didn't come back. It's so it can be being a teacher can be drama, and those the ones that typically leave are the ones that we really want to be there. Why is the workforce struggling? Because we don't invest, and then what people don't realize is they'll say, like, well, I don't understand why no one wants to hire anybody. Well, uh, because nobody has anywhere to put their babies, Karen. That's why. Because I chose my family, Karen. That's exactly why. But see, you know what? See, this is what America does. America says, Well, have you tried being a stay-at-home parent while working full-time and opening your own childcare facility on the weekends? That's the type of shit that we do here and try to figure out why we're not growing, why I why our system isn't getting better. You know, just hearing this story, I think I got a little off topic, but still on topic. What I've gathered is communication matters. If you're closing the place that watches people's children, maybe don't send that to them in the format of an unsubscribed link. It was almost came up like here's your typical newsletter. Childcare really is not optional, and parents can't work if they don't have childcare, period. The staff deserves respect. Like people have bills. What's horrible is it's terrible for the families that lost their childcare and they have to find somewhere to go Monday. But obviously, homie that's a nurse, she gonna she's rolling in the dough. But that poor, you know, center, that poor teacher. Yeah, she may be able to go find a job in a couple days, but she already not making any money. But you can't be ghosting your staff like that. You just can't do that. And we what we don't realize about the childcare system is that it's fragile. If one center closes, that's fifty families that go into chaos. Every child is a family, and you have put all those families into chaos at the last minute. But here's the crazy part multiply that nationwide and imagine how many families would go and lose their shit so quickly. We really do need a solution for this. I'm taking a guess and just saying maybe funding, stability, resources, and maybe people who actually understand child care making these decisions, it's just a thought, but I digress, and on that note, if you know anyone that needs to hear this story, pass it to them, and we'll 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, after school, 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, after school, and enrichment programs by Jarek Huff is available on Amazon and Amazon Kindle. Okay, we're back with Asking for a Friend. Hello, I am in school studying ECE now in my second year, and the childcare center I am employed at as a supply seems to not follow hygiene requirements for diaper changes. So a supply is kind of like an assistant teacher did kind of kind of run around and just do the random shit. I supply in the toddler room for a week and while doing the diaper routine, I did as I learned at school and wash my hands before and after changing my gloves in between each child. I also would disinfect the changing pad that we have. I was approached by another educator and asked if I changed my gloves for each diaper change, and I said yes. And she said, Oh, that's why we're going through so many. One set of gloves should be good for a group of children, which is up to five per kid, the teacher said. I found that gross and I cannot fathom doing this while the other children doing this with other children, nor do I want to wear gloves as that feels unsanitary. Doing research, I have learned that everywhere says that the single-use gloves should not be shared between children and should be disposed of after every change. They say gloves are pricey, but I'm like, what am I supposed to do instead? Do I follow what she said? Do I ask my manager? It goes against my values and protocols to not change the gloves in between children. I also am starting to worry that many other children's excuse me. I'm also starting to worry that many other childcare centers don't follow hygiene requirements either. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. I'm not even going to read the rest of this because that's just nasty. And I've never heard of that. Let's go back to this teacher person saying that gloves are expensive. Gloves are expensive. Girl, well, so is Salmonella, hepatitis, and a lawsuit, girl. Cause that's just nasty. And I'm going to be dramatic because this deserves being dramatic. Using the same gloves on multiple kids is like brushing your teeth with five people's toothbrushes. That is absolutely disgusting. If licensing walked in and saw a one glove to rule them all situation, that center would be shut down before nap time. Lady, woman, person, you are the future of childcare. You are trained, you care, and you have standards. Do not let the we've always done it this way, people turn you into patient zero. No. My final verdict: keep changing your gloves. But you do need to bring that up to the director, and I would also bring it up to health and licensing if nothing changes. You know, if they still say, like I said, the one glove for everyone, and you know, I'm the I am the last person to call licensing on somebody because I know how irritating they can be. But that's uh that's a licensing health violation. That's just nasty. Moving on. I currently work for a specific company for child care, but my hours are never truly guaranteed. But I have a new job lined up that I've accepted at a preschool that I would be an assistant teacher for. I interviewed for this preschool probably about a couple weeks ago, and now they literally just offered me the job on Thursday. I accepted the offer. I have some previous commitments with my current job. Sorry, I have some previous commitments with my current job, but how do I tell my current job? That's sorry guys, that's why I got confused. This is written weird. Okay, so how do I tell my current job that I'm about to start my new job? Is basically what she's saying. I think it was some typos. Can anyone give me advice? EC professionals specifically. I forgot to mention that this is the second time that I've worked for the company because I got hired in April originally, then I left for a better opportunity. That opportunity didn't work, so then I got hired back in September, but now I'm needing a better opportunity again. Dear lady, so you're not just quitting your job, you're quitting your job for the second time. Hey, first off, you don't owe them anything, your hours aren't guaranteed, which says to me, they can drop you whenever they feel like it. But then when you want to leave, of course, it's probably gonna be the loyalty and for family, and don't you just love the children? Girl, please. If the hours ain't loyal, you ain't gotta be loyal to them either. So, this is what you're gonna do. Step one, check the start date with the new job. Step two, look at how much notice your current job requires, usually two weeks, look in your handbook. Step three, make sure your previous commitments, whatever it is that you had that you said that you had to do, align probably the next week's schedule. Step four, then you tell them, hey, I accepted a new position, you put it in writing, my last day will be on so-and-so, and then boom, professional, clear, no drama, keep it pushing. And then for me, is when you said, But I already left once. Listen, girl, they rehired you, they knew what it was, they saw your application and said, Oh, well, let's run this back so clearly you weren't the problem, it was them. So I don't know why you're trying to worry about what their problems are. Girl, move on. And our last one is hi everyone, just wanted to get a sense of this. We recently had a daycare tour. Ugh, daycare. We recently had a daycare tour that lasted about an hour with the director. She showed us all of the classrooms ending in the oldest kids' room, which is the preschool group, aged three to five. We were surprised to learn that this was the director's classroom and that no teacher had been in there the entire hour. All of the kids were playing quietly when we got there, and then she said to the kids, When can you come get me? To which they responded, If there's an emergency or someone throws up. The room they were in was a big open room with two other teachers present in their other rooms, but the two teachers could not physically see these kids from where they were working at due to the furniture, etc. There were about 10 to 12 kids left alone during the tour. I understand giving kids autonomy and an encouraging independence, and it was impressive of how quiet and well behaved they were without supervision, but is it normal to leave kids alone like that for approximately an hour during a tour? There were a few other things we weren't sure about, so probably would choose this center, probably would not choose this center, but wanted to get any input from professionals. Does this still typically comply with ratio rules given she was in the building? Thanks in advance. So let's break this down and true ECE professional with a little PTSD from licensing. Child led play, I loved it. It was awesome. Teaching independence, beautiful, loved it. Leaving 10 to 12 preschoolers alone for an hour while giving a tour, baby, that is a crime scene waiting to happen. Here what actually this is what happens when the adults leave the preschool room. Cause someone's standing on the table singing, someone then smacks somebody upside the head, someone's eating play-doh, someone's cutting their hair. One of these kids are probably planning a coup, and yes, someone definitely threw up. And when can you come get me? If someone throws up, that's crazy. That's diabolical, y'all. You come get me the emergency or somebody throws up. How damn often is somebody throwing up that the kids even know that? So, like, it's throwing up the official emergency threshold, like, not a fire, not broken bones, not you know, Jeremy fishing for a shoe in the toilet. It's the throw-up. And why do the kids sound like they've been trained in crisis protocol? But let's not even talk racial rules. License licensing does not say, you know, as long as the adult is somewhere in the building spiritually, like, girl. For me, outside of all of that, it's the fact that the director is the lead teacher. One girl, mom, whomever, dad, whoever this is, auntie, one. Because that means there's no administration time, there's no leadership support, there's no backup in the school, there's it's just chaos in the bit, it's just complete chaos. The bottom line is if the tour is 60 minutes and the kids survive with no adults, they're not independent, they're trauma bonded. It's a no, and possibly a let's get licensed in on the phone real quick, type of situation, and we'll be right back. 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. You can find best practices for center, program and activity directors by Jared Cuff on Amazon or Amazon Kindle. And here is our interview quarter for today. You ask the question, how do you deal with difficult customers? And they respond with, I ask them to put it in writing, and then I forget how to read because I don't get paid enough to deal with this shit. So then I match their energy and now we both yelling. Don't hire them. But some of y'all will because y'all hire out of desperation. The question is asking how do you deal with problems and how do you deal with people? Because this is putting you on the front line of the business. I personally love hearing stories dealing with you know, dealing with difficulty, what the situation was, how you handled it, and what the results were. I want to hear something like this. I deal with difficult customers the same way I deal with easy customers. I want to make sure they have an exceptional experience with us. I won't let them say bad things about us or things that aren't true, but if we haven't met their expectations, I want to take responsibility for that and see if I can fix it. I still want the experience as positive as I could be doing something that would make up for the problem. Now you see, that's an answer. See, that answer was nice and full of shit, and I loved it. And I loved it because it lets me know that you know how to play the game. You know how to turn it on and you know how to turn it off. Nobody is that perfect and happy all the damn time. So I know it was full of shit, but the fact that you lied to me in my face, I somewhat appreciate it. I really do. I think that was great that you lied to me that way. Like I said, you know how to turn it on and off. But when someone responds with, I matched their energy, move on to the next person, please. Just move on. And now is policy time. And remember, something became a policy because someone then messed up the shit for all of us. Today's policy is fraternizing. And why is this a policy? I'm gonna tell you a story. I once had a teacher dating a parent, and it was pretty horrible. Now, I will say that we as you know administration, we didn't know any of this was going on. We had no idea. We didn't know that this was a thing until they broke up, and then that's when the drama unfolded. It got real Tyler Perry-ish, y'all. So the parent went to licensing, child care licensing, and told them lies to get the teacher in trouble, not realizing that this actually put drama on the school, aka on me. And we I didn't have shit to do with this. I didn't even know y'all were dating. Honestly, to tell you the truth, I barely knew who the damn parent was. Why am I in this story now? So now the story to child care licensing. Oh, and and to the police because she sent it to the police too. So the stories of um abusing the kids, abusing her child, drug use, it just went on. I told y'all it got real Tyler Perry-ish. Next thing, licensing and licensing and cops are showing up, they're asking all these questions. It was a lot. I mean, a lot. And now I had to truly get involved in their relationship. Now I'm asking questions, I'm going through uh phones. So I know now you're asking why am I going through a phone? I'm going through the phone because allegedly certain conversations that were being had via text because this parent turned in text messages. I had to make sure that those text messages and those conversations weren't happening while they were on the clock, which they were not, which I particularly didn't give a shit. But all the conversations about just I'm not even gonna go into the super super details with y'all. All those conversations happened while they were not at work, so they could have been at home, they could have been in the club. I don't give a damn where they were. They weren't at they weren't in the schoolhouse with me. That's all that matters. So that's why I was all in their phone. This went on for months. It wasn't like, oh, here's a one thing. No, the investigation kept going on and on, and I'm talking to child care licensing, and me and them are getting into it. Now we have bad blood. First off, we already got bad blood, that's a whole different story. So now our blood is even worse. We just got bad, bad blood. And like I said, this went on for months. And yes, I felt bad for the teacher because it wasn't true, but in reality, I felt bad for me. Shit, I'm the one that had to do the extra work with no bonus. I felt bad for myself. Eventually, we figured out that you know it was all lies and they were mad, and kind of, and then when we found out, like, because at first we didn't know that they were dating, we just thought it was weird. Then as the story started to unfold, then we found out that they were dating, then the parent had trauma from a previous relationship that was abused. It was just so much. I I learned so much about people that I really didn't want to know. Anyways, after all of this was done, I created a fraternizing policy stating how it is highly frowned upon to be dating anyone that you work with, anyone, anyone's parent, anyone that supervises you, just don't date here. It's highly frowned upon because I can't tell people what to do when they go home. I really wish that I could, but I cannot tell people what to do when they go home. So that is why this is a policy. Well, that's all that I have for you this week. I want y'all to not send breakup emails at 7 p.m. on a Saturday night and then ghost your families and staff on Monday. Continue to change your gloves so that you are not patient zero, and do not leave children in a room for an hour to trauma bond over throw up. Other than that, talk to y'all next week. 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.
