“Since becoming an RECE in Ontario, I have witnessed things that are illogical, immoral and dangerous. I’ve seen owners of for-profit childcare centres instruct their staff to bribe children with bags of candy and to ration toilet paper for children who are toilet training. I’ve faced situations that no-one should be expected to deal with alone, but often, there would be no additional staff person to help when I was alone with my group of children.
Until the pandemic hit, I was the only educator in a room with three children with ASD, one with ADHD and a speech delay, and four other children. I was expected to provide a safe and engaging environment. I couldn’t meet the needs of this group of children no matter how hard I tried. I implemented How Does Learning Happen and the centre expected a secondary curriculum that was based on themes. I was also required to log the children’s bathroom routines, meals, pictures, and developmental milestones into a tablet and send reports to children’s families. My superiors knew the struggle myself and the children were facing, and offered no real help…. just apologies (which is all ECEs get). I was very good at what I did, but honestly, I was always confused, behind, frustrated, and just completely overwhelmed when doing my job.
I was completely exhausted when I got home and had nothing left for my own family. I was an educator who was completely burnt out and rundown. When COVID 19 hit instead of being terrified I was relieved because I knew the everyday hell that was my life would stop maybe just for a little bit. I didn’t care about the pandemic, I was too exhausted.
I’ve been off since March 2020. In my time off I’ve realized l would never go back to this field because I’ve been taken advantage of, lied to, and treated as less than human. Worse than this. I don’t feel I was able to help a single child because our underfunded child care system has failed Ontario’s children. We require more support staff, smaller ratios, higher wages for educators, and more paid sick time for the illnesses we are constantly exposed to. What we do is tremendously important and difficult. Asking for support, resources, and decent work should not be unreasonable. Demanding them should be commonplace!”
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All educators, children and families deserve a well-funded, public child care system that ensures their needs are a priority. We know the Federal government is committed to a nation child care plan, and we need the Ontario government to work cooperatively to ensure no Ontario child, family, or educator is left behind. We need a publicly funded, non profit, universal child care system with decent work for all.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care.
https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup