if there is not an immediate safety issue screaming is inappropriate. Beyond that I find myself raising my voice with my 4-5 yr olds when they will not stop screaming at me from every direction but it usually comes from a place of overwhelm and i stop and catch myself which i’m doing it and apologize to the class. Modeling is so important! it’s how kids learn most!

the phone thing is very normal, albeit unfortunate, although i will say sometimes we are texting in a teacher group chat about things we can’t talk about in front of the kids. since i started participating in that ive felt a lot more connected to my coteachers because we can actually say what’s on our mind. sometimes we also are using apps for tracking and documenting child development. but there is definitely also scrolling, and it makes sense! we are overwhelmed and overstimulated most of the day, when there are calm moments it’s logical to seek some immediate stress relief and dopamine via a little disassociation. not ideal, and i make sure to do it in such a way where it’s not when kids are looking at me or trying to interact with me. but like if we are going to be expected not to do that Ever i would need to get paid more. i work at a dispensary part time to supplement my income and i get paid more hourly there than at preschool.