Problems in Teaching Preschool

Despite its many advantages, teaching preschool does have some disadvantages that are good to be aware of. Teaching young children presents its own set of unique problems and obstacles that every preschool teacher must face. To foster a comfortable and productive learning environment for preschoolers, a teacher must understand and recognize these problems.

One drawback to teaching preschool is that you are teaching children at such a young age that they are not behaviorally developed. Preschool may be the first time some children have a significant body of rules to follow. In fact, learning how to follow rules and peacefully interact with peers are some of the primary reasons children attend preschool. Before deciding to teach preschool, determine if you have the ability to not only to enforce behavioral rules but also to handle the stress and disorder that accompanies students' behavioral problems.

Students at such a young age can have difficulty paying attention for a significant period of time. One of the obstacles you will have to face is that of holding preschoolers attention. Especially with a large class size, it may be difficult to keep everyone's focus on a specific task or project all of the time. This can be frustrating, but you must accept it.

Because preschoolers are so young, they often do not have the language skills necessary to peacefully and diplomatically solve any problems they might have with their peers. Instead, they will sometimes resort to hitting to get what they want. Some students might not even know that hitting is not accepted. As a preschool teacher, you must be prepared for the occurrence of hitting in your classroom.

Because preschoolers are usually new to reading and writing as well as limited in their math skills, teaching them can take more work than it would on the college level, for example. While their own motivation and desire to learn will have some bearing on your students' academic skills, you will in large part determine how successful they are. Because of this, you will bear the large burden of helping to develop in preschoolers the foundation necessary for future academic success.