ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

In my early childhood classes I suggest to my students that the early childhood field is not a profession. It is one thing to want to be a profession, and to want the public to view it as such; it is quite another to actually satisfy the criteria of a profession. I think on any list of criteria of a profession, we would come up very short. This, of course, starts with the abysmal pay and benefits of our teachers and caregivers. In fact, I do not even cover our code of ethics (NAEYC) because I believe our pay/benefits is so unethical that it overshadows all other issues. I also think the discrepancy between the lack of pay and benefits of teachers and workers compared to the pay and benefits of early childhood leaders and administrators is unethical.

I too am concerned not only for the quality of care the children are receiving but also the pressure put on parents to find quality care and sacrifices they make to go to work. I am concerned about the pressusre the teachers/ care takers are under to "prepare children for school", while nurturing children's natural stages of development. There seems to be a conflict between ECE and the policy makers who are setting these standards.
I am glad that we are being encouraged to get a higher education to work with young children but the pay does not support that and I think in some cases we are getting what we pay for.
I am an avid believer in providing families with the best learning environment and opportunities possible to support the optimum development of the whole family so that all participants grow teachers included.

The article written by Alice Walker was great - I would add one more thing to her list of important issues to teach future early childhood teachers: make very sure your students feel safe enough to bring up questions that may not be considered politically correct or may seem to be out of line with the majority of others' opinions.

Today's article really struck a cord with me as an educator. It is important to recognise the needs of the children and families we work with to provide an environment where children can flourish.

In order for the environments to be optimal the Provincial Governments must recognise and provide educators with the tools (i.e. money, environments, and educational opportunities) necessary to reinforce children’s optimal development. If we continue to support standards of education that allow people to work with children after 50 hours of course work then what kind of treatment can we really expect?

To understand the true potential of development, which is individual and developmental, then we must first provide professionals with the knowledge to understand their role in this process.

Courses that last 50 hours are not enough to drive a bus or a truck or collect messages from a computer but we entrust the future of our society to those who take a 50 hour course relating to child care.

Perhaps it is not the people who are providing less than optimal care, perhaps it is the very standards we hold them to and knowledge that we provide them with that encourages them to provide care the way they do.

I was especially struck by today's article. I feel strongly that this is an honorable profession where teachers do some of the most important work for very young children and their families. With that understanding, this work is incredibly difficult taxing on teacher's emotional, physically and spirtual health. As a teacher and mentor to other student and professionals, I strive to portray an ideal that the center of our work is the children and families we teach. I agree with the proposed key aspects of teaching experiences set forth in this article. With the increased recognition and importance of the field of early childhood education, I hope that can find and develop strong early childhood professionals to be models in the field of ECE.