Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/crossing-bridges-between-home-and-center-based-child-care-finding-common-ground/5013335/
When I opened my family child care home, I filled my living and dining rooms with open shelves, child-sized tables, and child-sized chairs. I hung the walls with children's artwork. When I explained my new career to friends, I made it clear that this was just the beginning. Everyone nodded with encouragement. My program would grow. Soon I would need assistants. In a few years, I would own a real child care center.As I spent days with my little band of children, my talk about growing up to be a real child care center grew false. I came to understand something about myself. Those child care center dreams were not my own. They were an attempt to legitimize my career choice, to make my work seem more important. I was falling into the trap of thinking that what defines real teachers is that they work in classrooms. They do circle time. But I came to love starting the day by reading and talking with a squirming, giggling pile of children on my living room sofa.
I joined the struggle to professionalize the work of early childhood care and education. I examined the biases our field has toward women who provide early care ...