Real bad experience at Beth Comm School

[BarrylH]

Just wanted to vent...I signed my 3 year old son up for a camp at BCS. The first day we went he was crying and clinging to my leg, the teacher was trying to pull him off of my leg. I stepped back and asked him to calm down, and told him to try it for a day, and that if he did not have fun, or did not like his teachers he did not have to go back. Well, the teacher took him from me, told me to leave, and called my wife at home. They told her how horrifying what I said was and that I set him up to fail. I was livid and maintain they were sexist, and would not have called a dad at work had the wife said the same thing. When I arrived shortly after to retrieve my son(about an hour and a half after dropff, two hours before camp was over), they did not know where he was. When we found him he was alone on a swing, crying, with no adults near him, as three adults were leaning up against a pole chatting. Needless to say he wont go back, and they would not refund any money. Since lawyers would cost more than the money due, the best I can do is alert the community of what happened that day.

[Anonymous]

thanks for sharing.


I always feel that parents are at a dis-advantage because there is little information on day-care/pre-schools. Hopefully a forum like this will change that.

[Anonymous]

How sad for your child. An important thing to look for at any camp, preschool, or school is how welcome parents are to stay a bit in the beginning if needed, visit the classroom at any time of their choosing, etc. Don't let any adult/teacher tell you that your presence would be disruptive or "only make the separation for your child more difficult." Even if both those are true, it is your right as a parent to ensure that your child (whom you know better than anyone else) feels emotionally safe and secure. Only then will your child be able to learn and enjoy the experience. Good for you for going back to make sure your child was okay.

[Anonymous]

I have heard other very bad things about the school. When we toured, I found them to be extremely disorganized and lacking in structure. The teacher had NO IDEA what curriculum they used (ie: play-based etc). They also had no idea who was entering and leaving the building. And the classes are very disorganized with respect to the days children attend and numbers of children who attend a class in any given week.

[Anonymous]

I got tears in my eyes reading your post. I had a similar experience with my child's after school program toward the end of the year and I was LIVID. I hope you and your little guy feel better soon. Maybe a well worded letter of complaint to the camp director copied to the BBB or something like that? Given your experience I have no confidence that you would get a satisfying response, but it might make you feel better.

[Anonymous]

Good grief--I would have been so pissed. Alone and crying on a swing while some twit "teachers" chatted nearby? How *did* you contain yourself. Your poor little guy. Good that you saw their true colors early.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the support! The only reason I contained myself was my son, and the other kids were there. My son is now enrolled at another camp and loving it although he still asks every morning if he is going to the mean camp.

[Anonymous]

It does sound like they handled the transition very badly. But I have to say, having a child who had a very difficult time separating at that age and has been homesick at times since, telling the child that she doesn't have to go back if she doesn't like it is a recipe for the child not to go back. This is the advice of all the professionals and (good) educators we've dealt with over the years. If the child has an out, she will never adjust. And quitting will always be an option.

We followed this advice and my daughter got over all the separation issues and homesick issues. She is now at overnight camp and writing home about how much she loves it. Some kids just take time to adjust.

I'm not excusing the way your situation was handled by any means but I do think on that one point the school was right.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that any of the PPs have reacted to the part of his story where the teacher "told on" him to his wife. That stinks. I only wish that had happened to my husband because I'd have something to say to the teacher who called me. If we want our husbands to be full participants in parenting, we can't allow them to be treated like secondary care-givers.

[Anonymous]

Could not agree more with PP.

I'm glad to hear that your son is now enjoying his new camp.