Discrimination at Jo-Ann's Fabrics and Crafts

[QualiTcare]

"Then Jo-Ann's could clear that up very easily by simply making the discount a non-profit discount and not specify which type of non-profit it applies to. I sure there are other non-profit organizations out there that would love the discount, but don't have licensed teachers on staff."


most employees of non-profit agencies aren't notorious for spending money out of their paycheck to buy craft/art supplies.
it appears to me that they've already made their policy pretty clear - some people just can't take no for an answer.

[Crystal]

geez QCare, you are pretty passionate about this. Got a side job with Joanne's? LOL!

[QualiTcare]

geez QCare, you are pretty passionate about this. Got a side job with Joanne's? LOL!

yeah, i am! apparently, several people are, but i'm ALMOST the only one with an opposing view. personally, for the zillionth time, i don't think it has jack to do with status. i think it has to do with the fact that providers are business owners and can write off the items as an expense.

secondly, i'm a teacher, and it's annoying enough that this is one of the only professions in the world where when you tell someone what you do for a living, they follow up with 10 more questions to clarify BECAUSE the word "teacher" has been abused so badly by childcare providers who aren't proud enough of their own profession to say, "I'm a CHILDCARE PROVIDER!"

when someone says they're a doctor, you don't have to say "a doctor, doctor?" when someone says they're a lawyer, you don't have to ask, "a lawyer? like one who passed the bar?" you get the point.

now, THAT's not enough. "we deserve the same benefits, too! all of them! down to a measly discount at ONE singled out store!" it just irritates me because i see so many providers online make snide remarks about how good teachers have it and how easy their jobs are, blah blah blah. but then they turn around and call themselves teachers, gripe about wanting the "respect" teachers get, and i'm sure wouldn't mind having teacher's support for this little "cause."

it's actually pitiful now that i think about it. but what the heck, at least there's some publicity coming from all of this!

[Lucy]

yeah, i am! apparently, several people are, but i'm ALMOST the only one with an opposing view. personally, for the zillionth time, i don't think it has jack to do with status. i think it has to do with the fact that providers are business owners and can write off the items as an expense.

I'm one that's with ya. Most everything you've said is how I see it.

[melskids]

I'm one that's with ya. Most everything you've said is how I see it.

me too.

my sister and i are both high school graduates with no college behind us.

i work from home, so i'm a childcare provider. because she works at a center she's a teacher.

[QualiTcare]

me too.

my sister and i are both high school graduates with no college behind us.

i work from home, so i'm a childcare provider. because she works at a center she's a teacher.

are you being sarcastic?

[Don't See the Harm]

What Is the Harm?

I understand the distinctions everyone is making about credentials and certificates, etc. What I don't understand is what Jo-Ann's has to lose by offering this discount? They may lose a small amount of profit. However, they will make up that profit in HUGE amounts by increasing the number of shoppers who will begin making purchases at their stores because Jo-Ann's offers them an advantage that other fabric/craft stores do not. AND they will gain the goodwill of the people who are put off by this topic. Plus, they will encourage store loyalty, which is huge nowadays. Positive marketing benefits companies to no end.

[Guest]

Discrimination at Jo-Ann's Fabric's & Crafts

Tom what does this mean? "The way to overcome this ignorance is to be proactive in educating others about the positive impact preschool teachers make on the lives of young children. All the research supports this."

What research are you refferring to?

I have to agree with JoAnn's on this. The child care industry has done this to themselves. The misues of the word teacher has finally been CAUGHT by big business.

In my State you can have a Center with three hundred kids and not have a single person in the building that has even a GED except for the director who has to have a high school diploma.

Every single center in my area calls their staff teachers. The staff can walk into the building without a high school education and not even a GED and within a couple of days of background checking and a physical they can be put into a room and be called Teacher from that day on. The amount of "education" they have to have is a two hour child abuse class and by the anniversary of their first year of service they have to have tweleve hours of CHILD CARE classes that are NOT college classes. When I say twelve hours I mean twelve sixty minute hours. THAT'S IT.

The state of Iowa does NOT regulate that term. The Centers use the word because it makes them money. It makes the parents feel like their child is with an educated person.

I can't speak to the home schooling part because I don't know their reasoning for that but I say cheers to them for taking a stand on this term that is so misused.

I hope you haven't been smitten by the research on poor kids and early childhood intervention. YES preschool is valuable to children who are the poorest of the poor and who live in underprivledged environments. Other than that subsect of the population, I haven't found any research to back up that preschool makes any signficant difference in any measurable life outcome for lower middle class, middle class, upper middle class, or wealthy children. That's the blunt of our kid population.

You said: Are Family Child Care Providers Teachers?
Jacqueline Crocker always thought so. She has been a licensed family child care provider in the Kansas City area for over 20 years. She is accredited by the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC)

Here is the NAFCC's Eligibility criteria: http://www.sncs.org/downloads/provid...pplication.pdf


Be at least 21 years of age. Have a high school diploma or GED.
Provide care to children for a minimum of 15 hours per week.
Provide care to a minimum of three children in a home environment.
At least one child must not reside in the provider’s home.
Be the primary caregiver, spending at least 80% of the operating hours actively involved with the children.
Co-providers must spend at least 60% of the time actively involved with the children.
Have at least 12 months experience as a family child care provider. Meet the highest level of regulation to operate a family child care program by the authorized regulatory body.
Be in compliance with all regulations of the authorized regulatory body . Have a favorable state and federal criminal history.
Be in good health in order to provide a nurturing and stable environment for children.
Maintain a current CPR and Pediatric First Aid certification. Adhere to the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct .

You see why JoAnn's doesn't accept that as proof of being a teacher?

Nannyde, I notice you left out the most important part of being NAFCC accredited. As a NAFCC accredited provider since 1996, I can tell you it's not that easy. You failed to mention the 120 hours of Early Childhood Development training an accredited provider has to take every 3 years. I personally know Jacqueline who is not a family childcare provider, but an excellent preschool teacher.

From reading your blog about the childcare center and "no one" has a GED, and the care for 300 kids. Then you mention NAEYC, which is for centers. To top it off, you think preschool it only good for school who are "poor". It shows that you really don't have any idea what you are talking about. If you would like to understand that we are teachers, please come spend a day with us.

I agree that it's time for Jo-Ann to stop discriminating against licensed childcare providers, as Early Educators of young children.

[QualiTcare]

why not just go to school for appx. 1,000 hours per year for 4 years straight?

problem solved! no "convincing" required.

[Michael]

Nannyde, I notice you left out the most important part of being NAFCC accredited. As a NAFCC accredited provider since 1996, I can tell you it's not that easy. You failed to mention the 120 hours of Early Childhood Development training an accredited provider has to take every 3 years. I personally know Jacqueline who is not a family childcare provider, but an excellent preschool teacher.

From reading your blog about the childcare center and "no one" has a GED, and the care for 300 kids. Then you mention NAEYC, which is for centers. To top it off, you think preschool it only good for school who are "poor". It shows that you really don't have any idea what you are talking about. If you would like to understand that we are teachers, please come spend a day with us.

I agree that it's time for Jo-Ann to stop discriminating against licensed childcare providers, as Early Educators of young children.

Welcome to the Daycare.com Forum CC27. First off Nannyde does know what she is talking about but has a differing opinion. Your first post here should not be a personal attack on one of our members but constructive criticism. We frown upon the former here.

[nannyde]

Nannyde, I notice you left out the most important part of being NAFCC accredited. As a NAFCC accredited provider since 1996, I can tell you it's not that easy. You failed to mention the 120 hours of Early Childhood Development training an accredited provider has to take every 3 years. I personally know Jacqueline who is not a family childcare provider, but an excellent preschool teacher.

From reading your blog about the childcare center and "no one" has a GED, and the care for 300 kids. Then you mention NAEYC, which is for centers. To top it off, you think preschool it only good for school who are "poor". It shows that you really don't have any idea what you are talking about. If you would like to understand that we are teachers, please come spend a day with us.

I agree that it's time for Jo-Ann to stop discriminating against licensed childcare providers, as Early Educators of young children.

You obviously didn't read what I said. In my State you can have a Center with three hundred kids and not have a single person in the building that has even a GED except for the director who has to have a high school diploma.

Here's my States Center regs: The personell requirements start on page 46. Read em and weep.

http://www.dhs.state.ia.us/policyanalysis/PolicyManualPages/Manual_Documents/Master/comm204.pdf

I was wrong about one thing though. The Center director doesn't have to have a high school diploma either. She can have a GED too When obtaining her 100 points to be qualified she doesn't have to have any in the education points other than a business class (total twelve clock hours) or proof of business administration experience.

You said: You failed to mention the 120 hours of Early Childhood Development training an accredited provider.

Taking day care clock hours classes is NOT the same as college. You can't compare it. I've been through four years of college and over 250 hours of day care classes and I can tell you not ONE of the day care hours was ANYWHERE NEAR the level of difficulty as a General Biology course in college.

You can't compare it to getting a Bachellors Degree in early childhood education. It's a rediculous comparison.

I'm not saying it's not "hard"... I'm saying the education you get doesn't warrant you the job of TEACHER.

If you want to be called Teacher then go to real college and take a real four year degree program and be a real teacher.

You said: you think preschool it only good for school who are "poor". It shows that you really don't have any idea what you are talking about.

Show me. Show me the way. Teach me. Show me any longitudinal study on preschool education and how it results in ANY significant long term difference in the measurable outcomes of kids in reading, math, science, writing, etc. Core academic subjects. Not little bits of some reading scores... but fully in reading, writing, math, social studies, science. Show me how kids who have preschool graduate at a higher rate, have less crimal activity, have higher grades beyond second grade, have less teen pregnancy, have higher gradution rates in college, score higher in any grade level beyond second grade in standardized tests.

Show me how that happens because I can't find it. Show me a study that is not poor kids and disadvantaged kids and show me what preschool does for them. If we are going to put billions of dollars into it then we got to get SOMETHING out of it. Something in the way of EDUCATION.

Until then I will hold steadfast that we need to STOP taking research from poor kids and apply it to the reasoning for early education for the rest of the population.

My opinion is that there isn't anything out there to show non poor kids benefit in any measurable way to preschool because the truth is they don't. We always believe that early is better but in this case I don't believe it is. I don't think you can cheat mother nature. Kids are ready for school when they are five/six years old. You can teach them some of the skills before five/six but it won't make them better or "ahead" students in second, third, fourth, eigth, ninth, grade.

What kids need birth to five is good CARE. We need to subsidize good CARE.

[nannyde]

Welcome to the Daycare.com Forum CC27. First off Nannyde does know what she is talking about but has a differing opinion. Your first post here should not be a personal attack on one of our members but constructive criticism. We frown upon the former here.

It's okay Michael.

If she is the one who can show us the way in research that proves preschool gives an educational sustained benefit beyond "desperately poor students who lack functioning parents" then I will be here to take the blows. I want to know it. I've spent thousands of hours reaearching it and I simply can't find it. If she knows and she will share it with us then she has a position that is worth hearing.

[TomCopeland]

Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts

New blog post from my social media consultant - Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts Stumbles in Social Media Dust Up - http://tinyurl.com/4uzz97a

[Crystal]

BRAVO!!!!!

[Keri'sKids]

I've been doing book orders from Scholastic with my families for the last 7 years...wonderful program! I love it. We also collect Cambell's soup labels and get the rewards for them too. I participate in the Book-it program that the kids do in schools and earn free personal pan pizza's through Pizza Hut after they read so many books.

Wow! good to know. Love it! I get discounts from everywhere I ask like Barnes and Noble, Curriculum stores, and on and on...