Elizabeth Ornelas

UWRT 1101
Robert Arnold
November 2, 2015
Subculture Essay
Subcultures are being created and many are already formed. Subcultures are
groups of people that show similar interest and have a common goal. I chose daycare
centers as the subculture for my research. Through the process I discovered many
aspects of the subculture that I did not know. Each teacher at a daycare acts or has
different ways to control a group of children and it works for them. Even though their
actions are different,the goal or objective of each teacher is the same which is to help a
child learn in the process of being in a daycare for the children's future education and
life skills, like how to obey and stay safe.
The terminology or language used throughout the day of being a daycare teacher
is simple english. Even when teachers talk to each other they do the simple talk, but
especially with the children due to the fact their vocabulary is not strong and still
learning the English language. The teachers use the word ratio several times a day.
Ratio means the amount of children according to the age per teacher. For example,
toddlers which are ages one and two ratio is one teacher to six children. Twos and
threes ratio is one teacher to ten children. Late threes and fours ratio is one teacher to
thirteen children. Other things the teachers say are safety words to the children like:
walking feet, lets be nice, dont do that you can hurt yourself, etc. The teachers also

teach children to have a bigger understanding of the language so being repetitive in this
subculture is important.
One of the questions I asked the director of the daycare I recently started
working for before doing my observation was, Does a certain process help members of
the subculture function well on becoming more literate or increase their literacy and
what motivates the members?. She stated that each teacher has their own way to
become literate in the area and that the love of children and teaching is the motive for
them to become better at their job. While I was observing my coworkers, I noticed that
each one would act different or have different strategies on dealing with the children.
For example if a child would not pick up their mess, one of the teachers would be polite
about it and say, Jane Doe can you please pick up your toys, while another teacher
would be more commanding and their tone would be different. The director was right,
each teacher has their own form of being literate in the topic.
In conclusion, this subculture is not hard to understand. It is simple, but not
everyone could do the job though, because many people would not have the patience
that is needed to be able to do the tasks teachers have to do. Teachers at daycares
help the children grow mentally and emotionally. The teachers also even help each
other out because they all have different strategies as I noticed while I was observing
my coworkers.