Hello, Janine. I don't believe that the lack of work ethic in our field is due to age. I have been teaching in ECE for 17 years and have seen and continue to see examples of poor work ethic and unprofessionalism, and age has never been a contributing factor. In my personal experience, I have found a few issues that lend a hand to the widespread unprofessionalism in early childhood programs.
1. State Requirements
I live in Florida and I can tell you that the state requirements to work in child care are laughable. Anyone can walk in the door, complete some "training hours", and start working in a child care program. I strongly suspect that many other states have low standards as well. If the standards for working in ECE are raised, people are less likely to see it as an "easy job" and unqualified individuals would be more likely to work elsewhere. Of course, this would also require states to create a path to affordable high-quality education and professional development opportunities.
2. Low Pay
The pay in our field is appalling and unacceptable. It is a slap in the face for committed individuals who are highly-qualified and put time and effort into their education and professional growth. I recently saw a job listing for an ECE teacher that paid $16/ hour and a Bachelor's Degree was required. What a joke. The person who gets that job would be better off finding a job in an area outside of an ECE program. But again, this problem often goes back to our state and local officials. The state doesn't set high standards for people to work in child care and so they don't provide appropriate funding for our field either. How can programs pay highly-qualified staff what they deserve when they can't receive reasonable attention and funding from the state?
3. Program Management
A program is only as good as it's leader. I have worked in a couple of different programs and any time I have chosen to leave, it has been due to unprofessionalism and lack of leadership. Going back to the issue of age, all of my directors have been older than me. But I do not see their age as a contributing factor. Sometimes they do not have the proper management training and sometimes it's just their own personal characteristics that make them unfit for a leadership position. While I absolutely believe that states should set high qualifications for program directors, I don't feel that it would completely solve this issue, because the ability to lead often lies with an individual and their choice to be a professional.
There is a lot of work to be done in our field. If the standards and compensation for early childhood practitioners aren't raised, we should not be surprised to find that it is difficult to hire highly-qualified and dedicated individuals into our programs.
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Ashley
Teacher and Curriculum Coordinator
Brandon, FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-05-2020 07:56 AM
From: Janine Militzer
Subject: Work ethic
I am reading a lot of posts about how ECC is hurting during these times with the pandemic. I understand that this has brought out more than ever now how important we as ECC teachers are to our communities. My question is what has happened to our younger generation's work ethic. After a few years working back in childcare as a infant teacher, I am seeing absolutely no work ethic with the younger teachers.
I should note that I am the oldest staff member at the center. I am 54 years old and still hold a strong work ethic. There are a few good ones out there, but they are far and few between. Is it a generation thing or is it because of the pay being so low that it is attracting people who are not totally qualified. I am also noticing that my director is also scrambling to find good quality teachers so sometimes she has to go with someone who is less qualified and hope for the best.
It just seems to me that my generation was raised to have a strong work ethic and today's generation simply has little to none that I have noticed. I continue to do this job as I feel I am playing an important role in nurturing and loving these infants in hope that it prepares them for the next adventure in their tiny little lives. Is it too much to ask the same from my younger co teachers?
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Janine Militzer
Wausau WI
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