The Role of The Teacher - Essay Example

 The Role of The Teacher Preschool or Nursery are words that are used in referring to “Part-time, Center-based Programs With a Focus on Education or Socialization of Young Children”.(Seifert, 2004). The idea of nurseries dates back to the seventeenth century in Europe and the number of full time child care centers in The United Kingdom now exceeds 11,5000. It is widely publicized by psychologists and other specialized fields of child learning that these early years are the most important learning years of a child’s life. A childs formative invariably shape the rest of a child’s being. Therefore, it is fair to say that the Nursery teacher has a enormous responsibility in the care of our young minds and although it is usually for only four or five hours a day they will have a huge influence on our children's early experiences and memories. The nursery teacher needs to be a special type of person with the patience and caring to be able to interact with the children on their level as well as communicate with the parents in the same caring but adult manner. It is essential that they create a safe and joyous learning environment for the children and prepare daily, creative and fun lessons with outdoor activities to encourage the development of coordination and motor skills.”Children From Well-Implemented Programs Continue Showing Gains in School Achievement”(Seifert.2004) and studies have shown that the likelihood of anti social behavior or a need for special extra education are significantly less than that of a child who enters school without experiencing preschool education. Qualifications and Training Each individual employer will have their own personal requirements for the teachers that they hire. The first move in becoming a nursery teacher will be to accomplish a qualified teacher status. “To Become A Nursery Teacher In A State School, You Must Gain Qualified Teacher Status(QTT)” (Directgov,2010). You will achieve this by completing either undergraduate, post graduate,school centered or work based Initial Teacher Training(ITT).(Di On top of the academic achievements required, an employee will be looking for teachers with a strong knowledge of the subjects and activities they will teach. They will be looking for communication skills and an ability to instill trust and confidence in their charges and with an understanding of a child's personal, physical and emotional needs. Patience and creativity will be traits that will be strongly favored. There is the opportunity for the Nursery Teacher to advance their career and maybe become a center director or even, with further studies move on to Kindergarten through to grade three. Likely Daily Issues In child care facilities it is children, usually from 1 to 4 years old that are being cared for and the main key issue is that you are providing non maternal care. That being the case many day to day problems will arise that the nursery teacher will need to deal with.”Babies Don't Only Need Constant Care, They Need Consistent Care.” (Leach,2004,p.13). With changing in staffing on a regular basis through short staffed split shifts, sick leave and holidays the child is receiving a number of different mother figures and this can be a problem unless each carer gives the child the same, manner of care, attention and discipline as it is imperative that the child be treated with consistency. This is just one of the key issues the nursery teacher will need to address. Another major issue is dealing with problem children and they will always be there. Tantrums, hitting, biting are all issues that have to be dealt with by the teacher. Decisions on how to best handle them and minimize the disruptions to the other children have to be made. How to discipline a child that you are not the parent of to appropriate effect is a major issue of the child care worker. Child care teachers are often asked to work long hours and this is an important issue to deal with. ”Most Child Care Workers Have to Cope With Large Numbers of Children Over Extended Periods.”(Gannon, 1990). While dealing with issues such as non maternal care and bad behavior, fatigue may become another key issue leading to heightened pressures and even burnouts and so here is another problem that will be faced on a daily basis and as an accomplished nursery teacher will have to be contended with. Government Policy on Day Care As more women are entering the work force than ever before we have seen a dramatic increase in the use of Nurseries and the British Government acknowledges this and the problems associated with it. It concedes that good,early childhood education is of utmost importance to their development and have dedicated policy to ensure a safe and successful preschool program. “The Government Is Determined That All Child Care Services, Be They New or Established Provide a Secure and Safe Environment For Children.” (Department for Education and Skills,2003). There is legislation regarding health,safety, food and hygiene as well as fire drills and planning that all nurseries must strictly adhere to. There is also a 14 point National Standards guideline for quality of care that no child care provider may fall below. These standards include the suitability of a person to run a day care center, care, learning and play, environment, equipment and safety. Health, food, child behavior and child protection are also part of these standards. There are mandatory governmental requirements for any person to manager a day care center and this includes a two year service as a nursery teacher. There is also a strict vetting criteria before being registered as a day care worker and a criminal record check is part of that process.” All Managers, Staff and Volunteers Must have Appropriate Experience, Skills and Ability to do Their Jobs”(Department of Education and Skills , 2003). “Every Child Matters” was a UK government policy introduced in 2003 and it contended that there are five basic principles that should to apply to the care of children. Health, Safety, Enjoyment and Achievement, Positive Contribution and Well Being.”The Policy Applies to Anyone Who Works In Any Capacity With Children,or Providing Services To Children.”(Newcombe,2010). Another policy implemented by the UK Government was “Inclusive Education”, which is a law that makes it illegal for any nursery to discriminate against children. “Legislation in The UK Prohibits Discrimination in Education and Supports Inclusive Education.”(CSIE, 2011) Conclusion The research I have done for this paper has given me a respect for the Nursery Teacher than I have never had before. The responsible they carry is enormous and they virtually hold the future of children in the 1 -4 years bracket in the palms of their hands. The rewards would also be great and to see those children that they cared for in their formative years grow into responsible adults would be a source of pride and a sense of immense achievement. They need to love children and have an enthusiasm and passion to work with them and if those traits are present, then it is a great career to enter. The day care worker can earn between £21000 and £39000 depending on experience and position and a working day is normally 9 till 5, of course that can vary according to circumstances. Casual positions are available and full time positions carry the same conditions regarding holidays and superannuation as does any other full time job. The Nursery Teacher deserves the same respect that is bestowed upon Professors, Doctors and Lawyers and their positions are just as, if not more, important. I believe this to be a truly rewarding career and one that really should be regarded as an attractive career path and one the could lead to greater heights in the child education realm. Research Box, Cheryl.(2009). Early Years Teacher.[Internet] University of Portsmouth. Available from http://www.prospects.ac.uk/early_years_teacher_job_description.htm. (accessed 20th Oct.2011) Directgov. (n.d.).Nursery Teacher-All Information.[Internet] Directgov Public Service All In One Place. Available from https://nextstep.direct.gov.uk/PlanningYourCareer/JobProfiles/JobProfile1486/Pages/default.aspx (accessed 20th Oct.2011) Department of Education and Skills(n.d.) Full Day Care.[Internet] Imperial College London. Available from http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/pls/portallive/docs/1/46973696.PDF(accesses 20th Oct. 2011) The Stationary Office(n.d.) Every Child Matters[Internet] Department of Education. Available from http://www.education.gov.uk/consultations/downloadableDocs/EveryChildMatters.pdf (accessed 20th Oct. 2011) Seifert, Kelvin N.(2004) Nursery and Preschool Education.[Internet] University of Manitoba. Available from http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~seifert/nurseryarticle.html (accessed 20th Oct. 2011) Gannon, B. (2003).Care Workers [Internet] The International Child and Youth Network. Available from http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0603-stayingsane.htm (accessed 20th Oct.2011) Friedman, Michele. (n.d.) Child Care.[Internet] Almanac of Policy Issues. Available from http://www.policyalmanac.org/social_welfare/childcare.shtml (accessed 18th Oct. 2011) Seifert, Kelvin N.(2004) Nursery and Preschool Education.[Internet] University of Manitoba. Available from http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~seifert/nurseryarticle.html (accessed 18th Oct. 2011) Bureau of Labor Statistics.(2011) Teachers-Preschool.[Internet] United States Department of Labor. Available from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos317.htm (accessed 18th Oct.2011) Leach, Penelope (2003) Daycare Info.[Internet] The Canadian Society for The Prevention of The Cruelty to Children. Available from http://daycareinfo.net/someproblems.htm (accessed 18th Oct. 2011) Gannon, B. (2003).Care Workers [Internet] The International Child and Youth Network. Available from http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0603-stayingsane.htm (accessed 18th Oct. 2011) Read More