Originally Posted by MegMeg
Originally Posted by Grinity
It actually isn't the job of a teacher of 2 year olds to answer questions. I think the placement is the fault, not the teacher here. She has a reasonable expectation that the kids in her room will act like normal 2 year olds.

I'm going to veer off-topic here (my apologies to the OP), but . . . really? Is my child just in a very unusual preschool? Admittedly it's a room of 2.5 - 3 yr olds, but each day is FULL of questions, answers, explorations of how the world works, asking the kids questions to get them thinking ("What is ice? Why does ice melt into water? Which do you think is going to melt faster, the big block of ice, or the little ice cubes?")

My town is lucky to have an awesome Early Childhood Education program at the community college, so preschools here are flooded with well-trained, enthusiastic teachers. But even if this sort of thing isn't "normal" for teachers of 2-year-olds, it seems like it should be. In other words, it IS their job, even if most of them aren't doing it.

I may be guilty of assuming too much about the OP's situation, but she says it's a Mother's Day Out program. I would guess the quality of the program is probably comparable to the childcare room I used at the YMCA. Safe, pleasant, but not in any sense a "school" and refering to the staff as teachers was more of a pleasantry that a professional title.

Although I would be shocked to hear an employee say it that way - "It's not my job to answer childrens' questions" - I think in practice you could argue that is true. In a 2 y.o. room they are still changing diapers and making sure the lids on sippy cups are secure. Not only is the OP's child very advanced, but he's older than the other children. It's not realistic to expect a MDO program staff memeber to answer all his questions. Just to keep him safe and happy while mom runs a few errands.

In programs I have chosen for my children on the basis of the educational environment they provide (as opposed to convenience) I have always found a huge degree of self-selection going on and the other children have tended to come from very good home environments and many were extremely bright. My expectations for those schools were very different.