As a future teacher, I believe that it is extremely important to implement a caring environment for both students and their families. A classroom that a parent feels comfortable sending their child to says a lot about the teacher. In my field experience, I do make it a priority to say hello to every student and parent when they come into my classroom. You never know how their morning could have gone and a simple hello could be the change in their day that they needed. I also believe it is important to say goodbye to your students despite the type of day they had in the classroom. Every day is a new fresh start and a simple goodbye could change the trajectory of the next school day. I think that a lack of hellos and goodbyes given to students could cause a disconnect in the relationship between the teacher and students.
I believe that when a child cries a lot when their parents say goodbye could be a sign that they have a very loving attachment to their parent. This could also be the student’s first time away from mom and dad which can cause a lot of big emotions they have never felt before. I feel sad for the students that cry when their parents leave because I often think they are scared. This also makes me want to work harder at connecting with the student or helping them make friends. I hope that these students will eventually be able to view the classroom as a safe and fun place that they want to go to each day. I do not feel different towards the children that do not cry when dropped off. I instead look at these children as the ones who are ready to have new experiences. These students are the ones that I would introduce to the children who are crying. Seeing a student who is excited to be at school could be a great influence on the child who is scared to leave mom and dad.
I believe that some parents leave without saying goodbye in hopes that it will make their child’s transition easier. If they don’t see them leaving they might not notice that they are gone. I think this might be easier for some parents if it is their first time leaving their child. I think these parents may feel that they are doing the thing that is best for their child as well. Some children may settle into the classroom well and then be triggered when their parent says goodbye to them. When I see parents leaving their children in this way it makes me sad. I believe that at some point the child could think they were abandoned. I think about how I would feel if I was that child and realized that my parents left me without saying goodbye. I would feel hurt and scared and possibly even abandoned. I think that these children could be feeling abandoned. I believe that every child should get to say goodbye and be reassured that their parent is going to come back for them and not leave them there forever. For a child, they may not know how school works and they may believe they will be there forever which can cause panic and sadness. I also think that if the child is affected by this enough they could even have trust issues in their later years.
I help parents reunite with their children at the end of the day by giving the children work from the day to show their parents. Children want someone to be proud of them so allowing them to share their work from the day shows both the parent and child something they can be proud of. I believe that a parent could feel sad that their child wants to keep playing instead of going home. I also think the parents may feel happy that their child has settled in so well and enjoys their new environment. Each parent is different and depending on how drop off went I think that has an impact on how the student’s pick up goes. I enjoy seeing the children reunite with their parents at the end of the day. I like seeing the smiles on their faces as they show their parents their work and talk about their day together. I also like that some of the children had such a good day that they don’t want to leave. It makes me feel like I did a good job creating a safe and welcoming environment for all students.
