The Hell of American Day Care II

ExchangeEveryDay on April 30 invited readers to react to the New Republic article, "The Hell of American Day Care." We were impressed not only with the record number of responses (81 so far), but also with how thoughtful the responses were.  You can review all the responses on our website, and I have listed below two representative comments:


"I feel a very heavy stillness inside of my being.  I know this is a reality in the world and it has been so ever since people have cared for others' children.  Every loss is detrimental to the world.  We all agree we need to do more and we need to do better, no matter where we are developmentally in our work as caregivers, teachers, and administrators.  We need to do better as a human race, government, and society.  This is not all about money, but money is a piece of the problem.  We always want the best; when we see the price tag on the best, we are forced to go elsewhere.  Some people argue there is a problem with common sense, education of caregivers, and the entities making the rules or divvying up the funds for child care education support.  We all have responsibility in this situation and every situation like it.  I grieve for families, the caregivers, the administrators, the government agencies, and all entities that have fallen short.  I want to know that there will be some movement.  I don't want to only grieve, I want us to be empowered to create a movement with one target: creating safe, quality, nurturing environments for our children.  With quality and nurturing caregivers who will be vigilant about safety.  With parents who know they have choices and power to make change. With a government who will listen and make the needed changes to the system and delegate funds in the appropriate manner, because they are educated enough to know what to do.  I do believe we have high-quality child care centers that provide high-quality opportunities.  I know the many people in the field who strive to educate and be educated.  It is not our future we should be concerned with; it is theirs.  What are we going to do about this?" — Letitia Lehmann Grzesiak, Merrionette Park, Illinois

"Sadly, the information stated in this article is absolutely true.  At the time these horrible events took place, Texas Minimum Standards for child care only required providers to have 8 clock hours of pre-service training or education in order to be deemed eligible for employment.  Contrast this requirement with that of barbers and hairstylists who must have 1,500 clock hours of training!  As an early childhood teacher educator I refer to the Jessica Tata story in many of my classes so that these precious babies are never forgotten and in hopes that the crime will NEVER be repeated." — Pamela Norwood, Houston, Texas

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