Favoritism

I have only worked in one center where favoritism didn't exist. The administration was professional and so was the staff because it was expected and modeled. This was the best experience I've had in working in child care and I wish I had found it earlier than I did. I may have felt differently about working in the field and had a better career in it than I have.

The other two centers that I worked at, favoritism was part of the daily work environment. There was favoritism toward the staff from administration. It was done openly and everyone knew who the favorites were. These were the staff members who sat up front by the administration offices and talked to the director and assistant director almost all day. They had more of a say in the problems that occurred than others and these were the people who were always given the time off that was requested and never told no. This would be a reason why staff are not loyal to a company.

Favoritism has also occurred between staff and children or families. It was worst at the third center I worked at. It again was done openly and some were unprofessional enough to openly admit to not only staff but to the families themselves that their child/ family was their favorite. There were teachers at these centers who treated the children unequally and would sometimes be down right rude or exclude children from things. They treated the children differently and you could see it hurt their feelings. The administration would do nothing about it. This would be another reason why staff are not loyal to a company. Administration doesn't step up and fix the problems they have.

When children are excluded and treated differently this sends them a message that they are not as important or loved as another child and it's in my opinion wrong. This effects children's self esteem and self worth and it can cause irreparable damage. Yes, some children get in a little deeper than others and you have a stronger bond with them than you do other children, however, it doesn't give a teacher the right to treat them differently and to teach them that there are different rules for them than others. The children who are taught that there are different rules for them than others have a hard time when they enter 'the real world' because not everyone is going to give them the special treatment that teacher did. They all of a sudden have to follow the rules and sometimes these children grow up to be the people no one likes because they think their special and expect others to treat them like they are because teachers, family whoever treated them like they're special and taught them rules don't apply to them but instead other rules apply to them. It is in my opinion, a great disservice done to them. Their lives can end up being harder than they need to be all because they weren't treated with equality somewhere along the line. Favoritism hurts children.