Rude Parent

[QualiTcare]

if anyone wants to argue about the importance/unimportance of education, and you missed the boat on the "soiled underwear" thread - then you can always go back there and stir it back up.

OR you can PM me!

but i have said nothing here that was bragging or insulting - in fact, i pretty much said the same things everyone else said before i got called a bragger, .

i don't apologize for having a degree, mentioning that i have one, or saying that i DO think standards should be higher for daycare workers SO THAT pay can be higher. again, if u want to continue that discussion - go to that discussion!

call me a snob - that's cool - i call you obsessed.

[Crystal]

6 things that my education have gotten me:

1.)Respect, appreciation, and admiration from parents and colleagues and treatment as a PROFESSIONAL, not a babysitter.
2.)Higher pay
3.)A wonderful job as a Mentor Teacher for the State of Ca. and more locally 4 community colleges
4.)A job for our R&R as an Environmental Rating Scale Assessor
5.) A job as an Independent Consultant for Head Start
6.) A feeling of satisfaction, self-esteem and the awareness that I fully understand Developmentally Appropriate Practice and provide a higher level of Quality Early Care and Education because of that.

No, I don't have my degree, YET, (very close) but I can imagine things will only get even better once I do. And, yes, I still provide Child Care and Preschool with all of the other work I do....can't imagine not working with children.

So, YES, education DOES matter. And, YES, I'm bragging, but not in a mean way, I think everyone brags when they have accomplished things that are important to them.

[QualiTcare]

You can call me stupid, but my degree has not helped me to do what I do. I have a job that requires it, and that's all. It makes me more money. It has not helped me in any way be better, smarter, more capable of anything else. You seem to think that it does. YOU ARE WRONG.

Your bragging is a constant flapping of opinionated posts that all amount to the following: "I have a degree, and therefore I must be held up to be something that you others aren't."
I will not bow to you, I see no need for it. It would only serve to annoy me if I had you on my staff.
Good Day.

i don't know why i find it so funny that you (who says that i think i'm grand) said it would only serve to annoy you if you had me on your staff! LOL!

why on earth would i ever want or need to be a "staff member."

[Daycare Mommy]

when someone says education is "a waste of time" or "a piece of paper" they look equally stupid. why are people allowed to say that education is a waste of time, useless, etc. and it's okay? but when someone who disagrees, and god forbid is educated says NOT getting an education is a waste of time, etc. they are "bragging" or "being insulting" or "looking down on people." i find it insulting when people tell me i wasted my time and education means nothing. i also find it hilarious cus i know whoever says that knows they're full of it.

what's funny is that most people who show disapproval of the education system in general or think it's a "waste of time" usually went to college, but realized it was too much work so they quit.

and anyone who DID finish college - and ESPECIALLY if they went for over a decade would not look at their education as "nothing but paper." if that's the case, i would hate to think it took over a decade and thousands in debt before the realization that it was all for nothing.

i smell bologna.

You need to read my post a little more carefully before you go flying off on tangents like this. My earlier post on this thread was about MY experiences with school and then studying on my own. I want to make it clear to everyone that I did not belittle anyone else's degree nor did I bash education. Everything in that post was in relation to my own personal experience. There are no generalizations in there or judgements on anyone else. I don't appreciate you taking my post, twisting it and stating that I've made myself look stupid and implying that I quit college because it was too much work. Go back to the 'Soiled Underwear' thread and argue with yourself some more and leave me and my post out of your rants.

[jen]

You need to read my post a little more carefully before you go flying off on tangents like this. My earlier post on this thread was about MY experiences with school and then studying on my own. I want to make it clear to everyone that I did not belittle anyone else's degree nor did I bash education. Everything in that post was in relation to my own personal experience. There are no generalizations in there or judgements on anyone else. I don't appreciate you taking my post, twisting it and stating that I've made myself look stupid and implying that I quit college because it was too much work. Go back to the 'Soiled Underwear' thread and argue with yourself some more and leave me and my post out of your rants.

Don't worry about it, everyone else here can read and didn't have any problem understanding your post.

[QualiTcare]

you do realize that a LOT of people have commented on this thread and the topic of education, the value or lack of value of it, etc. right?

so, i find it funny that you would think i was directing anything at you personally. that's a little egotistical, actually.

the only reason anyone would even suspect that i was talking about them is if they felt like what i said applied to the comments they've made - since i've referred to comments and thought processes in general (even outside of the people commenting here), but no comment or person in particular has been addressed by ME.

[Janet]

I suppose it's all relative...

I used to work at a center and as a lead teacher, I was expected to create weekly lesson plans for my toddler class. Cool, I can do that. Here's the rub...I didn't get to really create it at all! I was told what theme to write a lesson plan for, and I had to get it approved by another teacher. We all did! I hated it so much that I decided that I wanted to run my own daycare at home so that I could teach the kids in my care the way that I felt would benefit them most. Fast forward almost 6 years. I absolutely love my job because I get to decide what I will teach my kids and how I will do it! I have a college education in addition to CDA hours completed (120) and I have the completed portfolio. All that is left to do, really, is just to get someone to come to observe me and to take the test. It would be easy enough, but I'm not going to do it because it's not the education that I've chosen to use with the kids here. Yes, they learn the alphabet, counting, colors and shapes but I've also included much more and spent much more time focusing on the other subjects that I choose to educate them about. I have a group of kids who raise money twice a year to donate to places where it'ss needed the most. I have kids who know how to settle arguments without beating the crap out of each other. Yesterday we picked up litter around the neighborhood and the surrounding area. We also talked about fair trade and we talked about the benefits of buying used clothing and other things related to that. I didn't use my education for any of that. I just did it the way that I thought I should do it. Next week, my lesson plan is going to be about careers and I have people coming in to talk about their jobs each day. I have everything from a massage therapist/Reiki master to an electrical engineer. I also have a DJ/program director, a boat builder, a retail employee, a stay at home mom, and a nurse and I am still recruiting more people. Not all of these careers require a higher education degree. I guess the way I see it is that I wasted a lot of money on a college education that I don't use. Also, I really want to allow the kids in my care to use their imagination and to create before they go to school and get an education that is lacking, to put it mildly. Just listen to the lyrics of "The Logical Song" by Supertramp and that pretty much sums up how I feel. I just want to say that being "educated" doesn't automatically make a person a better fit. Like someone posted before, some people are just born to do this job! I'm one of those people. I just wish I would have known that before dropping a ton of money for the education that I don't really use for my profession. No offense to anyone who has a degree, that appeals to many people and that's cool. I'm just trying to give a different perspective. I know that I'm not a good fit for every family, and I am upfront about that during tours. I know that my brand of education isn't traditional. I'm teaching the kids in my care the stuff that I would want to have had my daughter taught back when she was in daycare. Also, there are subjects that the kids and I learn together. I don't know much about the different cultures in different countries, but I want to learn so the kids and I learn together. I think that education is very important, but there are many so many ways to be educated. I'm not trying to make anyone mad, just showing a different vantage point.

[jen]

Janet, I would send my child to you in a second...and not because of your degree!

[Janet]

Awww...Jen...Thank you )

That was sweet!!! That made my day )

[Crystal]

Janet, I think you make great and valid points. I practice very similiarly to you. And, while I don't think it is neccessary to have a degree, I think that there are so many more opprotunities that come to us because of having an education in the field. I know all of the additional opportunities I have are because I have proven myself, but I NEVER could have done any of them without the education I have. I also know, that so many of us expect to be treated as professionals, with repsect for the work we do, but that is never going to happen without acting as professionals....one aspect of which is to continue formal education.

I am very glad I began working towards my degree when I did. Here in Ca. things are beginning to change, and the Dept. of Ed. is currently working on setting standards for programs, including Family Child Care. At some point (within the next year) there will be a quality "star" system. The more stars, the better quality....without formal education, you cannot even participate in the quality rating system....which will set programs apart and will be public information. I know I don't want to be one of the programs without any stars, as I would likely lose my business.

But, I do agree, there are MANY wonderful programs where the provider has never stepped in a college classroom and happens to be a natural at working with children, and I think there are many here who fill those shoes

[Crystal]

p.s. sorry for so many typos....in a hurry.....