Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/consider-this-why-we-matter/5026196/
Do you have something to say to the early childhood crowd?
We invite Exchange readers to submit personal essays and opinion editorials for our new section Consider This. We welcome a diversity of viewpoints and authors.
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It will not matter… Why would anyone listen to me… I do not have time… Politics is for other, more IMPORTANT people…
The list of reasons why people in the child care field do not/will not/cannot advocate goes on and on. Many of us do not feel like we can get everyone else to care and make the changes we all desperately need.
Let’s be honest, in the United States, our system of early care and education and child care works well for absolutely no one. To that I say, “What if… What if we were respected for our expertise, caring, and responsiveness to children and their families? What if people understood how play-based environments lay the foundation for the ‘selfs’ (self-esteem, self-awareness, self-control) and the ‘Cs’ (critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and curiosity)? What if we were paid according to the value we bring to a child’s life and the broader implications of our work on ...