$10 per day childcare - celerbation or concerned

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So want to say “for now” to all those answers from politicians and advocates like the AECEO and OCBCC for this … based on historical precedent of what happens when the government is responsible for the majority of funding I find it hard to trust promises like “ratios won’t increase” also do not see funding being distributed equitably to see improvement to wages across the board - large licensed centres are going to end up eating up the majority of funding because well they are the least financially viable model of childcare and have the highest overhead model and overtime easy to hypotheses that there will be less and less for the tiny amount of licensed home childcare that is currently is represented in the licensed model let alone if the “unregulated sector” starts to try to migrate over placing more demand on said funding that’s been allotted which is based on the currently model that only meets 25% of the actual childcare used in Ontario. 

 

Again based on precedents of history - hate to keep saying it but look at Quebec …. despite the sector being unionized for 25 years now their home childcare sector, under this same model being represented here, gets the scattered crumbs that are leftover and preCovid had started roaring strikes because 25 years in and home childcare was still making LESS than minimum wage because they were getting away with paying them daily rates vs hourly wages and the length of the days just kept increasing as parents worked longer hours and had longer commutes you know to help pay for these programs … and this is despite the reality that home childcare has the least amount of overhead, provides the lowest ratios/group sizes for children and the access to a responsive attentive primary caregiver throughout their early years journey that all the brain and trauma informed research shows is vital to success in the early years. 

 

Currently licensed programs cannot properly staff programs NOW where are they gonna get all these new staff from to open up new spaces or to be home coordinators for agencies?

How quickly are we gonna see more and more centres who currently only hire ECE because they believe that’s what high quality program should be having to resort to hiring unqualified staff a because of shortage and b because they can pay them LESS and the burden of the pressure from the government not funding enough in wages to keep up that practice - which is gonna put more responsibility on the ONE RECE required per group because with the CECE and protected practice laws the non qualified staff are not SUPPOSED to be doing program planning, discussing development with parents and array of other “only a RECE” can do

As always people get hyped about the sound bytes and then are greatly disappointed by what actually rolls out! 

 

FDK is almost 20 years in between the pilots and than the full roll out is STILL underfunded and looks NOTHING like what was promised

Based on conversations with peers I it is likely that majority of home childcare providers will WAIT and see what actually rolls out before being concerned about this … I am willing to guess that any families going on wait lists NOW for this new program will likely have children in university before they actually opening up spaces for them! 

 

I would also bet money that the majority of these 86,000 spaces being promised  of which 15,000 are already been already created in 2019 and counted in this promise will be for SCHOOL AGE children and not the 0-4 age group which they do NOT tend to open up  too many of at a time in comparison! School age care is the ONLY care that can actually balance an operational budget because their ratios are so much higher than current infant and toddler or even preschool programs which is why programs choose to focus on those age groups with school age and preschool spaces being in abundance and toddler and infant spaces in great demand in the licensed sector!

 

And I have to say it once again if parents cannot access this 'social support' $10/day program to let a parent stay home and DIY their own childcare or get their nanny, extended family member or neighborhood home childcare costs covered via the program too than it’s NOT gonna fit the definition of ‘universal’. At best based on the current landscape it is going to be a very expensive investment that is only reaching 25% of the children in Ontario and that just does not seem like a EQUITABLE investment in the early years or respecting CHOICE for Ontario families!

 

Can’t help but be concerned about the future generations that are gonna come up through this model specially when again the research that shows that Quebec’s long term studies on the actual social/emotional and mental health outcomes for their program users has been alarmingly poor So sure the program got more parents into the workforce cause both can work but at what TRUE COST to children and families living there cause there’s more valuable things in life than lost INCOME.

 

Hug your little ones tight and if you believe in a higher power pray that today's announcement about Ontario joining the Federal government's $10/day platform turns out to actually be beneficial to the CHILDREN it is meant to serve as building blocks for their life long learning path! 

 

For the first time in two years I ironically now have something to be grateful for with the pandemic having closed my own early learning program and my health having forced me to retire from practicing early childhood education for the time being - I can advocate from the sidelines without the stress of having to live through this uncertainty of roll out first hand! 

 

Changes in childcare have never run smoothly as they rolled out and sadly far too often caused more stress and work for those on the front line than benefiting them! 

 

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life

 

 

 

Happy Childcare Worker and ECE Appreciation Day!

 

Tomorrow Thursday October 22nd is Childcare Appreciation Day in Ontario ... during the pandemic so many of my peers have risen to the challenge of taking on yet more risk and responsibility due to the pandemic and have done so with little to no additional resources or support provided to them by the government that deemed them 'essential' but than put in policies that once again ripped the rug out from underneath them by create diminishing their resources and making empty promises of support like PPE and so forth which 3 weeks into October many have still not recieved this months allotment of PPE and yet they are at work making due with either providing their own or reusing what should be expired PPE.

They rise like this because not only because they KNOW that working parents rely on their services but because sadly for so many of them they have NO CHOICE but to yet again being asked to rise and do more with less because they are working pay cheque to pay cheque, often multiple jobs, because despite the cost of childcare to family's that money does not roll over to them much of that goes to 'overhead' of operating so they are so under paid that missing even one day of work can mean a bill goes past due or they cannot make their rent! They rise because if they do not they risk drowning!

My hat is off and my heart is so full for all those who are out on the front line now giving it their all and with a smile and happy demeanor for the children in their care despite the burdens upon their shoulders - because early childhood educators and childcare providers are SUPER HEROES! They should be valued and appreciated EVERY DAY and our government should do MORE to show that they are valued!

To all my peers - you ROCK!

 

Margaret

Live, Laugh,Love

Be Totallyawake4-life

Why do ECE have to tie their PD to Standards of Practice?

Still so many ECE complaining about the CPL having to tie back to our Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice! 

In my opinion the whole point of the way our CPL is deigned is exactly to force ECE to focus on tying their work with children to the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice  because sadly our entire industry has global issues with a LACK of them. IMO while it’s not something we like to talk or reflect on because individually we like to think we are all amazing at what we do and put our heart and soul into our work  the reality is that “collectively” the Auditor General report on childcare back in 2014 showed a serious lack of “quality” evident across Ontario’s childcare industry - the amount of serious occurrences reported in licensed childcare centre from loss of children to the death of children was statistically high considering these are only those actually “reported” to the Ministry and not all those some centres try to sweep under the rug and that the licensed sector only represents 22% of the childcare use in Ontario, the amount of centres operating on “probationary licenses” due to serious non compliance found during inspections with what are bare minimum standards and so forth! The documents too long and in-depth to list all the challenges that were shown - its a dry but informative read if you'd like more information on the challenges found in the industr.

And while I agree with my peers that it’s not fair that the front line bear the brunt of having to “raise the bar” on those issues but reality is if we want to be seen and valued as professionals we need an industry that clearly understands the Standards of Practice of the field they work in - hence why we ALL have to do this style of PD in order to reach those few who really need to do more active reflection about their role as an ECE.

Plus they are not just picking on us mandatory PL was also introduced in 2016 by the government to teachers college too for its members - the difference for them though is that they all share ONE employer in the Ministry of Education so it is easy for their employers to “provide and track” all their employees PLF as theirs is called via both their annual job reviews and PD day workshops and so forth to ensure to their college that the criteria is being met by their members and they get audited too but for teachers the process is easier because the employer is able to support the process and send their “PD records” and so forth ... sadly the ECE field does not have that same benefit of one shared employer especially one thats actually a branch of the “government” itself and not just Joe Public with its own agendas so we have to play all the roles of assessment, learning planning, implementing or own PL and “tracking” it all ourself!

However we will never have what teachers have in way of value/respect from society until we RAISE THE BAR in our own profession - and the CPL like it or not is the first step in that! And the more VISBLE we make that commitment to life long learning and that raising the bar process with a workforce well versed in its own standards of Practice and easily able to tie what we do back to those Standards to the public the better!

Unfortunately IMO the public seeing any % of that workforce so vocally complaining about having to do a CPL that asks them to reflect on their Standards of Practice or who doesn’t want to have tie their work TO the Standards of Practice because it’s hard doesn’t display a whole lot of confidence to dispel the societal belief that what we do “ is just glorified babysitting”.

Than adding to the uproar in frustration is the College of Educators current survey proposing a new 'class' of membership for those with administration background and the sheer panic from current supervisors that they may be 'forced' to go back to school. Yet there is no evidence that in the College materials that states supervisors would be FORCED to apply for this class of membership and not just remain RECE class. In fact it mentions considering the ability of members to 'move between' them as desired?

IMO unless the Ministry of Education changes its criteria to require RECE to have this new 'class' of membership with the College as criteria to WORK as a supervisor in a centre than IMO there is no reason why 'current' supervisory would have to have this proposed 'class' of membership they could just continue to have only a RECE designation.

From what I listened to and read on the College website is the OPTION of being an additional 'class' for those who have additional training and consistently work in Administration/Supervisory roles to be able to distinguish themselves to public from just 'regular' RECE. Many many other regulated industries have different 'classes' of membership based on additional qualifications - I personally do not see this proposal as a NEGATIVE thing at all!

I keep hearing everyone go on about wanting to be seen and paid and valued like TEACHERS but teachers have what they have mostly because they are unionized and have the government as an employer but ALSO because they RAISED THE BAR over the many many decades of public education from back when just anyone being able to teach as long as they could read and write themselves to having to have achieved a BA level education and an additional 2 year teachers college to having to also engage in continual professional learning framework themselves and so forth.

IMO we are at a chicken and eggs conundrum here - we feel we do not get paid enough to do all the stuff being asked of us HOWEVER if we want society to VALUE us and be willing to invest more money in childcare than we need to be visibly showing that this is a job that not just ANYONE can do - we need to raise the bar and show it takes skills, knowledge and continued learning to remain an effective professional!

Seems like so many frustrated early childhood educators out there right now filled with anger which is disheartening because our work with children is so demanding as it is without us bringing that kind of energy into our programs! 

Big deep breath's friends! Growth and change can be scary but it can also be BENEFICIAL ... the College is looking for ways to help raise the bar in our profession in a way that will help it better serve the public and better trained professionals committed to life long learning are what the industry truly NEEDS. We should not be fighting moves that are aimed at resulting in this! Right now we need to 'nurture' the chicken so that in the future it can lay us that golden egg of an industry that is SO VALUED by the public that they are willing to invest in early learning and care the same way they invest in education!

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life

Winter Rethink reflecting on “Belonging”

Amazing day put on by Strive

When Good Job Goes Bad

Last night along side a packed room of fellow Registered Early Childhood Educators I attended the second workshop in the series Renegade Rules at Childreach Centre "When Good Job Goes Bad". 

We spent the evening reflecting on the role of the language we choose when working with children and does the 'intent' behind the language we choose actually result in the outcome we are thinking it will or is there a better way to approach things like 'praise'. 

Admittedly based on the poll of the room ALL of us regularly resort to the 'good job' form of praise. There is lots of articles on the internet about the benefits of praise so of course we all think we are doing our job by praising! 

Why do we use 'good job'?

• Habit - it is what we heard growing up so we repeat the behaviour
• Quick catch all
• Simple language

What do we really mean when we use 'good job'

• to praise /encourage
• positive reinforcement 
• to connect / build esteem / let them feel noticed

What situations do we tend to use 'good job' more frequently

Typically mundane tasks and new self help skills.

 

Charity shared that statistically speaking the average child hears 'Good Job' 17 times a day per consistent caregiver ... so that means their teachers or daycare providers during the work day and than 17 times more with each of their parents at home! That is a whole lot of 'praise' going out to young children - but what are the emerging effects of this 'good job' praise?

Here are few slides from the presentation around research over the use of over praising with 'good job'

 

 

We reflected a bit on the following statement about who does 'good job' serve than ...

Collectively the consensus was that this could definitely be true in certain circumstances - such as when we praise children with the sole desire to reinforce the behavior we deem 'better' in an effort to alter their behavior when it is not so perfect. So in those incidents the praise is not authentic but rather manipulative because we know most children seek adult approval and therefore will be motivated to get the 'good jobs'. For praise to be effective it needs to not only be authentic but actually meaningful to the person receiving it.

 

We moved on to discussing the pros and cons of 'good job' forms of praise.

Pros to Good Job

• When authentic praise gives positive reinforcement
• Might be one of the positives their hear in a day
• Helps build relationships, bonds of attachment
• It is a tool to building trust

Cons to Good Job

• When 'good job' becomes overused and you do not give a 'good job' for something it can lower children's self esteem because they assume the absense of the 'good job' is its opposite meaning 'bad job'.
• Over use of 'good job' results in loss of intrinsic motivation to do things
• Praise becomes addictive where they do something for praise not to learn new skills or engage in meaningful work
• Overuse removes the meaning / lacks authenticity children quickly discover everyone gets cursory 'good jobs'
• Hinders independence when children seek outside approval and praise to do anything and without it they just do not do anything
• Can create environments that are more competitive and result in jealousy
• Can result in people repeating unwanted behavior immediately after praise in an effort to get praise again when they stop those behaviors. 
• A 'good job' becomes 'expected' and leads to more empty praise as we attempt to appease their requests for 'did I do a good job' 
• 'Good job' in itself lacks specificity ... the language is ambiguous to children whose developing language skills do not grasp the actual 'meaning' of what 'good job' is outside of the positive tone it was used with indicating it is a desirable phrase to hear! 

Yet dispite all the 'cons' we listed for 'good job' the reality is that human beings NEED praise - there is so much research out there about the benefits of praise! 

Why change and move away from 'good job' than when it is so ingrained in our culture and practice?

• language is too general
• despite our intent it actually results in thoughtless language interactions
• due to its general over use it lacks authenticity 

So if children need praise but 'good job' is not having the effect we desire than HOW should we be providing that authentic self esteem building praise?

 

So of the tips provided were:

Focus on the actual behavior and effort  being exhibited verse on their attributes of 'good'.

Focus on the appropriate behavior or skill you want to reinforce

Do not OVER PRAISE! Keep praise authentic so it does not become used for every mundane task or behavior we expect of children.
 

Pay extra attention to when praising 'effort' as it is a fine line of wanting to encourage them to 'try again' while also not wanting to come off as condescending! 

 

Remember those teachable moments - do not let praise get in the way of authentic interactions and language development. Sometimes the praise itself can just be really listening and connecting with a child when they are engaged in a new task!

We engaged in reflecting on average daily scenarios where we might 'good job' and brainstormed alternative ideas that focus on the above strategies.

There was so much amazing conversation and reflection that we ran out of time to do the last few reflection pieces so were encouraged to do them at home.

How Does Learning Happen? How do we let children know that they are valued and belong in our spaces, without using empty praise? 

• making their learning and work visible in the room via photographs, stories and work samples. Creating that authentic documentation to share with their family as well as peers in the program
• slow down and show interest in their accomplishments in meaningful manners and interaction
• ensuring they have a voice in the program that they are heard and noticed on regular basis - embracing that truly child led learning pedagogy where we observe and reflect and meet them where they are at.

How will we hold ourselves accountable now that we have this deeper understanding of the way simple language can impact children?

• Continue to be more reflective in the choice to change from 'good job' to more authentic specific praise.
• Be mindful in those busy moments

How will we hold OTHERS accountable?

• Share what I have learned via this blog post
• Role model the change I want to be in my program
• Help others see the value in adapting to more authentic praise through the results of using it in the program

The Renegade Rules series is a 3 part series and I am truly looking forward to the next one on No Thank You cause I know I use that phrase a LOT in the program and am interested to see what different language options might be more effective.

You only get one childhood. Lets make sure it is full of magic, nature and discovery!

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life

Why do ECE have to do self assessments?

Seeing this question a lot in CPL support groups! 'I already did the self assessment do I have to do it again at the start of a new two year cycle?'

Yes, we we do - there’s a chart on the college website that shows what you need to do in year one vs year two of the cycle. So if you’ve completed a full two year cycle than you start back at Year One is doing a new self assessment, new learning plan, and new record of learning for the new cycle.

In my opinion a new self assessment is required because over course of two year period the field changes - so there could be new regulations that effect our work, new laws that affect our work, new research on best practices and so forth may have emerged that would affect our work, our roles change as we might get promoted or have a student to mentor for first time, our job focus changes throughout our career or we change employers, we change our setting from centre to school or early years program or what not. Plus even if nothing at all like that has changed ideally as a RECE with two more years under our belt we’ve GROWN and that might change our self assessment reflections 😉

I love this quote from John Dewey .... the reflection component of the College of ECE's Continual Professional Learning process is the MOST important part of the process. The Self assessment has us reflect on our work in relation to the Code of Ethics and Standard of Practice for the profession. After engaging in professional learning taking the time to truly reflect on not only what we gained from the experience but how we plan to use that to implement change or improvement in our practice!

I have engaged in continuous professional learning for over 30 years now. I am a dedicated life long learner as it is how I recharge my energy and soul to ensure that I remain passionate about our field. However I am grown enough to admit that the 'reflecting' on the professional learning I engage in to ensure that I actually transfer that new knowledge into working practice has sometimes been lacking. There is little use to have a brain full of amazing knowledge and book smarts galore if we struggle to actually implement that in our daily lives with the children, families and community partners we work with!

Have an amazing day!

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life