“As a professor of ECE I’m concerned about the students’ future.
Semester after semester, I meet ECE students who want nothing more than to work with children. Their dedication and interest only increases as they learn about play, pedagogy, ethical care, inclusive responsive relationships and the ECE’s professional responsibilities.
I see the ECE students challenge themselves to think critically about their views of young children and families. We talk openly about the actions that the ECE profession must take to undo the tangles of racism and oppression in the early years.
They also learn that the ECE profession is historically undervalued and underpaid – pertinent information that they have a right to know. They learn that the low pay, challenging working conditions and lack of benefits create a serious recruitment and retention issue in the sector. As they learn this, they too wonder about their futures and next steps.
We talk about how, despite the lack of decent work, ECEs have continued to provide children with opportunities for play and learning, they continue to engage in ongoing professional development, to care for and to nurture every child. ECE students see the absurd injustice of the situation, so why can’t the Minister of Education also see it? I believe that he knows, but doesn’t care. How can he say he values our work on ECE Appreciation Day and at the same time, push through major changes to child care legislation that would undermine our work and our qualifications? A student said it perfectly during a live lecture “it seems like the goal of the proposed CCEYA changes is for the government to avoid their responsibility for providing quality, affordable child care and decent work for educators.”
I’m worried about my ECE students’ future. I’m worried that they will not be able to afford to be part of the profession that they chose, a profession that needs them.
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Recruitment and retention issues are long-standing in the early childhood sector. We know that without decent work and professional pay many ECEs leave the field within the first five years. No one’s future should be so uncertain, no one should worry if they can provide for themselves and their families. We need Ontario to back down from their current proposed regulation changes and instead, work cooperatively with the Federal government on a national child care system with decent work for educators.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup