Dear Tim:
I am old enough to remember how the type of language that you are using was anathema to the profession. I, too, believe that we need to use the language that the greater society understands and perhaps those tactics that they understand because appealing to the better side of people does not seem to work, especially if there are folks who do not need the services of your business. I remember bringing up the idea of a one-day walkout at one of the NAEYC Town Meetings and being met with a huge gasp. I did then and still believe now that the place of ECE in the daily functioning of our society and country would be so pronounced from a one-day walkout that we would get immediate attention.
Other advanced countries see the education of young children and childcare as essential services to be supported by the infrastructure of government, not as a controlling element but as something that should be available to all families who need or want it. Those same societies also have better systems for healthcare and paid leave for parents among other systems that support families.
What we need to have from the government is to recognize the role of early childhood education in the living organism of this country's body, without which nothing functions very well. We will be going back to when parents worked and 5-year-olds were left at home in charge of even younger siblings. That is not acceptable.
Alas, we are in a terrible situation now with this contagious virus that we have not figured out how to contain except through masks and distancing. We know who some of the vulnerable groups are for this virus but we do not have any real good treatment or prevention through vaccination. Regardless of this, those who work in the field and who own centers must band together to form a movement to get recognized as an important part of our society without which the society does not work well.
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Nora Krieger, PhD
Associate Professor Emerita/Past Chair NJEEPRE
Bloomfield College/NJ Educators Exploring the Practices of Reggio Emilia
Highland Park, NJ
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-28-2020 06:06 PM
From: Tim Kaminski
Subject: Childcare is part of the Infastructure of an Economic Recovery and a Sustainable Economy
It dawned on me today, that maybe we need to start speaking in different terms and vernacular when describing the importance of childcare and childcare centers during the pandemic and the road to economic recovery. Every successful economy has an infrastructure of services that it relies on to keep it moving forward. If one of those key elements of the infrastructure is in short supply, then it disrupts the supply chain and slows the growth. If one of the key elements disappears or breaks down completely, the economy grinds to a halt, until an alternate solution is created. That is where we are today. Childcare is in short supply at a time when the government is trying to get the economy going again. However this key element of the infrastructure is being over looked as one of the pieces required to move the economy forward again. In fact this key part of the infrastructure is about to collapse without a safety net in place which will cause the economy to falter again. The bridge is crumbling; we can see it crumbling; but people are still driving over it just hoping it will still be in tact when they get to the other side.
Using this type of language leaves out the typical references to ECE and its importance to society and the growth and support of children. For some political leaders is too easy for them to dismiss those conversations as not being relatable to the "big world problems" they have to manage. But when you start talking about economics, recovery and infrastructure it re-frames the conversation and puts ECE and childcare in a context that is more relatable to them. It's make childcare more relevant in a way they had not considered before. If they won't respond to our knocks on the front door to get their attention, maybe we should use the backdoor tactics to get what we want and gain a seat at the decision making table.
Curious to hear your responses to this idea!
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Tim Kaminski
Director/Owner
Gingerbread Kids Academy
Richmond TX
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