Amanda is an experienced and well-respected prekindergarten teacher. While she acknowledges her job can sometimes be demanding, she still feels joy every day as she watches the children in her classroom thrive academically and socially. But something has been weighing on her mind. For the third time this school year, Amanda has been asked to train a new teacher assistant in her classroom. She likes doing this and knows she is good at it, but Amanda still feels she is being taken advantage of by her program director. She also sees that this situation is taking a toll on the children and families in her classroom: each time a new employee is assigned to her, the current assistant is removed and placed with another teacher. This is highly disruptive to the rhythm of her classroom and to her children and families, who have to spend precious time forming relationships with the new assistants. Amanda is frustrated and wonders what to do. Should she leave the program and find another job? Should she grumble to families and ask for their support? Should she complain to the program director? Or should she just keep doing what she is told to do?

 

1- Can you relate to the director and/or the teacher in this scenario? Why?

2- What would you do if you found yourself in a similar situation now as a teacher? Or as the director?

3- Do you think it is fair for the director to ask the teacher to train new employees?

4- Whose needs should take precedence in this situation, the children, teacher, staff, or director? Why?

5- Do you think the stakeholders in this article handled the situation well?  Why or why not?

6-As a supervisor, how will you manage training needs for new staff while balancing the needs of current staff and other stakeholders?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

The director may see the experienced teacher as a valuable resource for training new staff while the teacher may feel overwhelmed by the repeated disr... View the full answer