I am a Preschool teacher, and have parents complaining about me teaching a song with 9 planets...?

Question

I am a preschool teacher and I had a parent complain about me singing a song with 9 planets during circle time. What do people think about changing a planet song with 4 year olds, I think it is silly to expect a 4 year old to understand that pluto used to be a planet but not any more..Any suggestions

Answer 1

The parent is being a pill. Just ignore it and move on. You are exactly right, four-year-olds aren't going to get the fact that Pluto isn't really a planet, just a big rock captured by our sun.

And, the fact is, schools teach things incorrectly all the time when trying to give children a very basic understanding of things. Then later, they change it as the child's intellect is ready for more.

States is a perfect example. When you start in elementary school, you are taught that states are parts of the USA and that other places are countries, even though they're the size of states. But when you get to high school, they start referring to other countries as states. As young children, we would probably have been completely confused if they tried to use the same word for both. But as adolescents, we understand.

Answer 2

That is crazy! I am a preschool teacher..(not working at this time, though)but, ya know, you cannot please all of the parents...some of them are absolutely ridiculous! I am not kidding here! Been there, so many times, done that!! If all else fails...you can always explain at the end of the song..that "okay, Pluto was in our song..but, Pluto is now NOt considered a "planet" anymore...but, if you want....we can still leave it in the song...and take a vote with the kids! Or you could be "correct" and change the song! Kids are very bright at those ages....I think that most four year olds "get stuff"...I have dealt with some that can do things that many adults don't know how to do, even as fast as the kids can!!
I have had some brilliant kids to work with as well as my average thinkers!!! But, all kids are pretty smart, at that age!

Answer 3

Some people are just petty. 4 year olds have plenty of time to learn astronomy, and I don't think they care if there are 4 or 12 planets. I think they are old enough to understand an explanation of what has recently occurred with Pluto, they might find it rather intriguing, and learn something, and have fun with a song all at the same time.

Answer 4

I am not sure how your song goes, but maybe you can just substitute say something like this, there use to be 9 planets but now there only 8, Pluto use to be a planet, but now we have mercury, Venus, earth, mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, witch makes 8. Or just asked the parent why it upsets them so much, I am sure that there are going to be tons of out dated books that their child will come across that states that Pluto is the 9th planet in our solar system

Answer 5

Simply explain you are teaching a historical perspective of modern astronomy and the song reflects how the scientific method is an example of the inquiry process; thus, a never ending, never settled debate.

This should shut up even a PhD is Astronomy.

I would just brush it off. Pluto will be a planet again within ten years anyway.

Answer 6

Okay, I have a preschooler,myself, and my husband just told me that Pluto is no longer a planet! WOW! I say 'thanks' for teaching my child ANYTHING. The earlier, the better. Won't he find out that Pluto is no longer a planet in third grade science, or something? Some parents are really anal retentive! Keep doing your job,Hon. I say hats off to ya. Kids love to sing, you love to teach-what's the hub-bub!

Answer 7

Sweetheart, you will always have loopy parents. Just smile nicely and keep doing what you know is right. I am a secondary language arts teacher. A parent recently complained about me because I was making my students read. Another complained because I enforced the school's tardy policy. There are parents who are out there just looking for a reason to blame the public school system . Remember this little saying.... "most people had a teacher ,so therefore they are now experts on the teaching field" . ......Armchair quarterback theory. Truly... dismiss their little gripes.

Answer 8

Forget the parents...if they tell you that you need to teach the kids that pluto is a dwarf planet, inform them that there are currently three dwarf planets. Kindly remind them that this is preschool.

Answer 9

(It's odd, now, isn't it, that , not too long ago, I think, there was actually discovered to be some new "planet" ..no.10! Now what ever happened to that one?)
I'm pretty pragmatic, so I suggest that you change all the 9s to 8's in your song and leave out the verse about Pluto. If you send me the lyrics to the song, I can do it for you. I'd like to see this song, anyway. Thanks.

Answer 10

Pluto has recently been classified as a dwarf planet, so it still has the word planet in its classification!

See this website:
http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Pluto

Perhaps you could mention the dwarf status before you sing the song with the children. You shouldn't have to go into great detail about this though.

Remember: You can please some of the parents all of the time, and you can please all of the parents some of the time, but you can't please all of the parents all of the time.