Open Discussion Forum

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

I have been an early education professional for nearly 20 years. And the last few years I have become an advocate for our profession. Especially the home-based community. The home-based community even from other early education professionals are often viewed as just babysitting and just Mom's. However as an early education professional who has worked in center-based programming home-based programming, for-profit and non-profit. I can assure you home base early education professionals are just as much of a profession as center-based programs. We are educators and we are passionate about our children and families in our programs.

I feel like one of the things that we need to work on within our profession is educating early education professionals about the differences of program types. Because as a home-based professional I get so frustrated when center-based professionals look down on me. I became a home-based provider at a necessity. I had my first child and I could not afford the tuition in the program that I worked. However I didn't feel like it was fair on my own child to send her to Grandma's house everyday for me to go to work and care for an educate other people's children.

So I feel like one of the biggest things are profession needs to do is educate everybody on what early education truly is. Is birth through age eight. It's home-based and center-based programs. Depending on your state it depends on what your qualifications are in order for you to work in an early education program. But early education is not just working with children but it's so much more. As I've gotten into advocacy I have learned how many organizations are truly out there working for early education and try to make it a viable profession. We need to educate the public as well and make them realize that early education should be bankrolled essentially like the public school system is. We know that our area of education is just as important if not more than elementary education and secondary education. We should be paid and valued just as much as a kindergarten teacher. However and tell our profession whether home base or center-based is actually valued and seen as the profession it truly is I think we're going to have a hard time retaining and recruiting early educators.

I'm located in Michigan in just a few days ago I went to early childhood capital day in our state. And in Michigan the average early educator makes just over $11 an hour which is just over $23,000 a year. That is downright disgusting. We are educators yet we are at or below the federal poverty line depending on the size of our own families. Something has to change. So many people are leaving our profession to go work at fast food because they can make more money. You don't need any type of education to work at McDonald's yet I know in my state I have to have a college degree.

So I feel like educating the public and our own professionals what early education truly is will help us in recruiting. But we all need to advocate to our state and federal representatives and senators and urge them to place a better value on early education.

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

I have been an early education professional for nearly 20 years. And the last few years I have become an advocate for our profession. Especially the home-based community. The home-based community even from other early education professionals are often viewed as just babysitting and just Mom's. However as an early education professional who has worked in center-based programming home-based programming, for-profit and non-profit. I can assure you home base early education professionals are just as much of a profession as center-based programs. We are educators and we are passionate about our children and families in our programs.

I feel like one of the things that we need to work on within our profession is educating early education professionals about the differences of program types. Because as a home-based professional I get so frustrated when center-based professionals look down on me. I became a home-based provider at a necessity. I had my first child and I could not afford the tuition in the program that I worked. However I didn't feel like it was fair on my own child to send her to Grandma's house everyday for me to go to work and care for an educate other people's children.

So I feel like one of the biggest things are profession needs to do is educate everybody on what early education truly is. Is birth through age eight. It's home-based and center-based programs. Depending on your state it depends on what your qualifications are in order for you to work in an early education program. But early education is not just working with children but it's so much more. As I've gotten into advocacy I have learned how many organizations are truly out there working for early education and try to make it a viable profession. We need to educate the public as well and make them realize that early education should be bankrolled essentially like the public school system is. We know that our area of education is just as important if not more than elementary education and secondary education. We should be paid and valued just as much as a kindergarten teacher. However and tell our profession whether home base or center-based is actually valued and seen as the profession it truly is I think we're going to have a hard time retaining and recruiting early educators.

I'm located in Michigan in just a few days ago I went to early childhood capital day in our state. And in Michigan the average early educator makes just over $11 an hour which is just over $23,000 a year. That is downright disgusting. We are educators yet we are at or below the federal poverty line depending on the size of our own families. Something has to change. So many people are leaving our profession to go work at fast food because they can make more money. You don't need any type of education to work at McDonald's yet I know in my state I have to have a college degree.

So I feel like educating the public and our own professionals what early education truly is will help us in recruiting. But we all need to advocate to our state and federal representatives and senators and urge them to place a better value on early education.

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

I have been an early education professional for nearly 20 years. And the last few years I have become an advocate for our profession. Especially the home-based community. The home-based community even from other early education professionals are often viewed as just babysitting and just Mom's. However as an early education professional who has worked in center-based programming home-based programming, for-profit and non-profit. I can assure you home base early education professionals are just as much of a profession as center-based programs. We are educators and we are passionate about our children and families in our programs.

I feel like one of the things that we need to work on within our profession is educating early education professionals about the differences of program types. Because as a home-based professional I get so frustrated when center-based professionals look down on me. I became a home-based provider at a necessity. I had my first child and I could not afford the tuition in the program that I worked. However I didn't feel like it was fair on my own child to send her to Grandma's house everyday for me to go to work and care for an educate other people's children.

So I feel like one of the biggest things are profession needs to do is educate everybody on what early education truly is. Is birth through age eight. It's home-based and center-based programs. Depending on your state it depends on what your qualifications are in order for you to work in an early education program. But early education is not just working with children but it's so much more. As I've gotten into advocacy I have learned how many organizations are truly out there working for early education and try to make it a viable profession. We need to educate the public as well and make them realize that early education should be bankrolled essentially like the public school system is. We know that our area of education is just as important if not more than elementary education and secondary education. We should be paid and valued just as much as a kindergarten teacher. However and tell our profession whether home base or center-based is actually valued and seen as the profession it truly is I think we're going to have a hard time retaining and recruiting early educators.

I'm located in Michigan in just a few days ago I went to early childhood capital day in our state. And in Michigan the average early educator makes just over $11 an hour which is just over $23,000 a year. That is downright disgusting. We are educators yet we are at or below the federal poverty line depending on the size of our own families. Something has to change. So many people are leaving our profession to go work at fast food because they can make more money. You don't need any type of education to work at McDonald's yet I know in my state I have to have a college degree.

So I feel like educating the public and our own professionals what early education truly is will help us in recruiting. But we all need to advocate to our state and federal representatives and senators and urge them to place a better value on early education.

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

This post began with a call to change the narrative from how many people are leaving to field to a more positive message, but what is that?  Instead of a positive discussion, the replies have been lamentations about low pay and lack of benefits.  Yes, these are problems that need to be addressed, but how do we change the tone of how we talk about our field.  How do we inspire and share all of the wonderful things about early care and education?

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

John you're right there are good and inspiring things about our field but it is always easier to look at or focus on the negatives.  I'll be honest the negatives for me, lack of support from management, etc. started to overshadow the positives, such as when my biter actually stopped himself before biting someone.  I hope that upcoming documentary film Make a Circle will help shed some light on the ECE field for the general public.

This post began with a call to change the narrative from how many people are leaving to field to a more positive message, but what is that?  Instead of a positive discussion, the replies have been lamentations about low pay and lack of benefits.  Yes, these are problems that need to be addressed, but how do we change the tone of how we talk about our field.  How do we inspire and share all of the wonderful things about early care and education?

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

I've been in early education for nearly 20 years. I enjoy early education but it is hard to try and recruit new people when things are so bad. How do you tell someone come to this profession and teach the littlest learners. But I'm sorry you'll need 2 more jobs to support yourself and you need a college degree but you have no hopes of ever payin those loans off? I feel like until those of us who are already invested in this profession can truly actually make change occur it's hard to recommend others to invest in our profession. They can go to school and go teach kindergarten and make 30,000 more a year and actually have a livable wage. But those of us who are working in the daily grind in early education unless we're married to somebody who has health insurance and has a good paying job we can't support ourselves on our own.

I love the smiles of children when they learn something new. I love the bugs I get. I love the funny things they say. But I hate that I work 50 hours a week for little money and little respect. 

John you're right there are good and inspiring things about our field but it is always easier to look at or focus on the negatives.  I'll be honest the negatives for me, lack of support from management, etc. started to overshadow the positives, such as when my biter actually stopped himself before biting someone.  I hope that upcoming documentary film Make a Circle will help shed some light on the ECE field for the general public.

This post began with a call to change the narrative from how many people are leaving to field to a more positive message, but what is that?  Instead of a positive discussion, the replies have been lamentations about low pay and lack of benefits.  Yes, these are problems that need to be addressed, but how do we change the tone of how we talk about our field.  How do we inspire and share all of the wonderful things about early care and education?

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

Tricia,

Thank you so much for getting to the heart of the matter. There has to be a way to increase teacher pay. In my area, a person can get paid a higher hourly pay for  scooping ice cream than being an E.C.E. teacher. I am a widow, who lost a decent paying teaching job due to a school closure. Now, I am faced with leaving a field I love and invested a master's degree in because I can't see how to make it financially viable.

Elizabeth 

I've been in early education for nearly 20 years. I enjoy early education but it is hard to try and recruit new people when things are so bad. How do you tell someone come to this profession and teach the littlest learners. But I'm sorry you'll need 2 more jobs to support yourself and you need a college degree but you have no hopes of ever payin those loans off? I feel like until those of us who are already invested in this profession can truly actually make change occur it's hard to recommend others to invest in our profession. They can go to school and go teach kindergarten and make 30,000 more a year and actually have a livable wage. But those of us who are working in the daily grind in early education unless we're married to somebody who has health insurance and has a good paying job we can't support ourselves on our own.

I love the smiles of children when they learn something new. I love the bugs I get. I love the funny things they say. But I hate that I work 50 hours a week for little money and little respect. 

John you're right there are good and inspiring things about our field but it is always easier to look at or focus on the negatives.  I'll be honest the negatives for me, lack of support from management, etc. started to overshadow the positives, such as when my biter actually stopped himself before biting someone.  I hope that upcoming documentary film Make a Circle will help shed some light on the ECE field for the general public.

This post began with a call to change the narrative from how many people are leaving to field to a more positive message, but what is that?  Instead of a positive discussion, the replies have been lamentations about low pay and lack of benefits.  Yes, these are problems that need to be addressed, but how do we change the tone of how we talk about our field.  How do we inspire and share all of the wonderful things about early care and education?

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

Tricia,

Thank you so much for getting to the heart of the matter. There has to be a way to increase teacher pay. In my area, a person can get paid a higher hourly pay for  scooping ice cream than being an E.C.E. teacher. I am a widow, who lost a decent paying teaching job due to a school closure. Now, I am faced with leaving a field I love and invested a master's degree in because I can't see how to make it financially viable.

Elizabeth 

I've been in early education for nearly 20 years. I enjoy early education but it is hard to try and recruit new people when things are so bad. How do you tell someone come to this profession and teach the littlest learners. But I'm sorry you'll need 2 more jobs to support yourself and you need a college degree but you have no hopes of ever payin those loans off? I feel like until those of us who are already invested in this profession can truly actually make change occur it's hard to recommend others to invest in our profession. They can go to school and go teach kindergarten and make 30,000 more a year and actually have a livable wage. But those of us who are working in the daily grind in early education unless we're married to somebody who has health insurance and has a good paying job we can't support ourselves on our own.

I love the smiles of children when they learn something new. I love the bugs I get. I love the funny things they say. But I hate that I work 50 hours a week for little money and little respect. 

John you're right there are good and inspiring things about our field but it is always easier to look at or focus on the negatives.  I'll be honest the negatives for me, lack of support from management, etc. started to overshadow the positives, such as when my biter actually stopped himself before biting someone.  I hope that upcoming documentary film Make a Circle will help shed some light on the ECE field for the general public.

This post began with a call to change the narrative from how many people are leaving to field to a more positive message, but what is that?  Instead of a positive discussion, the replies have been lamentations about low pay and lack of benefits.  Yes, these are problems that need to be addressed, but how do we change the tone of how we talk about our field.  How do we inspire and share all of the wonderful things about early care and education?

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

Why are the salaries not higher ?

It is sad that we do not value our future generation any more than that.

Tricia,

Thank you so much for getting to the heart of the matter. There has to be a way to increase teacher pay. In my area, a person can get paid a higher hourly pay for  scooping ice cream than being an E.C.E. teacher. I am a widow, who lost a decent paying teaching job due to a school closure. Now, I am faced with leaving a field I love and invested a master's degree in because I can't see how to make it financially viable.

Elizabeth 

I've been in early education for nearly 20 years. I enjoy early education but it is hard to try and recruit new people when things are so bad. How do you tell someone come to this profession and teach the littlest learners. But I'm sorry you'll need 2 more jobs to support yourself and you need a college degree but you have no hopes of ever payin those loans off? I feel like until those of us who are already invested in this profession can truly actually make change occur it's hard to recommend others to invest in our profession. They can go to school and go teach kindergarten and make 30,000 more a year and actually have a livable wage. But those of us who are working in the daily grind in early education unless we're married to somebody who has health insurance and has a good paying job we can't support ourselves on our own.

I love the smiles of children when they learn something new. I love the bugs I get. I love the funny things they say. But I hate that I work 50 hours a week for little money and little respect. 

John you're right there are good and inspiring things about our field but it is always easier to look at or focus on the negatives.  I'll be honest the negatives for me, lack of support from management, etc. started to overshadow the positives, such as when my biter actually stopped himself before biting someone.  I hope that upcoming documentary film Make a Circle will help shed some light on the ECE field for the general public.

This post began with a call to change the narrative from how many people are leaving to field to a more positive message, but what is that?  Instead of a positive discussion, the replies have been lamentations about low pay and lack of benefits.  Yes, these are problems that need to be addressed, but how do we change the tone of how we talk about our field.  How do we inspire and share all of the wonderful things about early care and education?

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

The vast majority of early education programs in the United States are funded by parent tuition. Parents are already struggling to pay their bills. We can only charge so much in tuition and parents can still afford it. We have strict ratios we have to follow. Until the people of the United States including the citizens and those in charge decide that early education should be funded the same way as public education we're going to continue to be in the situation we are in. Research shows that families should only have to spend 7% of their income on early education tuition however we know that many families are spending upwards of 40% of their income on tuition. I live near Grand Rapids Michigan and many early education programs that are center-based are charging almost $400 a week for infant care and preschool programming is between $275 and $300 a week. We have such an influx of early educators leaving our profession programs are just getting bodies in the room at this point to meet ratio. F they're not able to get bodies in the room to meet ratio they end up having to close classrooms because they don't have enough staff to staff those rooms. It's a crumbling system and it needs a major overhaul.

Why are the salaries not higher ?

It is sad that we do not value our future generation any more than that.

Tricia,

Thank you so much for getting to the heart of the matter. There has to be a way to increase teacher pay. In my area, a person can get paid a higher hourly pay for  scooping ice cream than being an E.C.E. teacher. I am a widow, who lost a decent paying teaching job due to a school closure. Now, I am faced with leaving a field I love and invested a master's degree in because I can't see how to make it financially viable.

Elizabeth 

I've been in early education for nearly 20 years. I enjoy early education but it is hard to try and recruit new people when things are so bad. How do you tell someone come to this profession and teach the littlest learners. But I'm sorry you'll need 2 more jobs to support yourself and you need a college degree but you have no hopes of ever payin those loans off? I feel like until those of us who are already invested in this profession can truly actually make change occur it's hard to recommend others to invest in our profession. They can go to school and go teach kindergarten and make 30,000 more a year and actually have a livable wage. But those of us who are working in the daily grind in early education unless we're married to somebody who has health insurance and has a good paying job we can't support ourselves on our own.

I love the smiles of children when they learn something new. I love the bugs I get. I love the funny things they say. But I hate that I work 50 hours a week for little money and little respect. 

John you're right there are good and inspiring things about our field but it is always easier to look at or focus on the negatives.  I'll be honest the negatives for me, lack of support from management, etc. started to overshadow the positives, such as when my biter actually stopped himself before biting someone.  I hope that upcoming documentary film Make a Circle will help shed some light on the ECE field for the general public.

This post began with a call to change the narrative from how many people are leaving to field to a more positive message, but what is that?  Instead of a positive discussion, the replies have been lamentations about low pay and lack of benefits.  Yes, these are problems that need to be addressed, but how do we change the tone of how we talk about our field.  How do we inspire and share all of the wonderful things about early care and education?

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

And not just any "body" can do our job, especially infant/toddler teachers, it takes someone really special to work with those kiddos.  The babysitter narrative changed a bit during the pandemic but now it is back to the usual.  

The vast majority of early education programs in the United States are funded by parent tuition. Parents are already struggling to pay their bills. We can only charge so much in tuition and parents can still afford it. We have strict ratios we have to follow. Until the people of the United States including the citizens and those in charge decide that early education should be funded the same way as public education we're going to continue to be in the situation we are in. Research shows that families should only have to spend 7% of their income on early education tuition however we know that many families are spending upwards of 40% of their income on tuition. I live near Grand Rapids Michigan and many early education programs that are center-based are charging almost $400 a week for infant care and preschool programming is between $275 and $300 a week. We have such an influx of early educators leaving our profession programs are just getting bodies in the room at this point to meet ratio. F they're not able to get bodies in the room to meet ratio they end up having to close classrooms because they don't have enough staff to staff those rooms. It's a crumbling system and it needs a major overhaul.

Why are the salaries not higher ?

It is sad that we do not value our future generation any more than that.

Tricia,

Thank you so much for getting to the heart of the matter. There has to be a way to increase teacher pay. In my area, a person can get paid a higher hourly pay for  scooping ice cream than being an E.C.E. teacher. I am a widow, who lost a decent paying teaching job due to a school closure. Now, I am faced with leaving a field I love and invested a master's degree in because I can't see how to make it financially viable.

Elizabeth 

I've been in early education for nearly 20 years. I enjoy early education but it is hard to try and recruit new people when things are so bad. How do you tell someone come to this profession and teach the littlest learners. But I'm sorry you'll need 2 more jobs to support yourself and you need a college degree but you have no hopes of ever payin those loans off? I feel like until those of us who are already invested in this profession can truly actually make change occur it's hard to recommend others to invest in our profession. They can go to school and go teach kindergarten and make 30,000 more a year and actually have a livable wage. But those of us who are working in the daily grind in early education unless we're married to somebody who has health insurance and has a good paying job we can't support ourselves on our own.

I love the smiles of children when they learn something new. I love the bugs I get. I love the funny things they say. But I hate that I work 50 hours a week for little money and little respect. 

John you're right there are good and inspiring things about our field but it is always easier to look at or focus on the negatives.  I'll be honest the negatives for me, lack of support from management, etc. started to overshadow the positives, such as when my biter actually stopped himself before biting someone.  I hope that upcoming documentary film Make a Circle will help shed some light on the ECE field for the general public.

This post began with a call to change the narrative from how many people are leaving to field to a more positive message, but what is that?  Instead of a positive discussion, the replies have been lamentations about low pay and lack of benefits.  Yes, these are problems that need to be addressed, but how do we change the tone of how we talk about our field.  How do we inspire and share all of the wonderful things about early care and education?

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

I've been in early education for nearly 20 years. I enjoy early education but it is hard to try and recruit new people when things are so bad. How do you tell someone come to this profession and teach the littlest learners. But I'm sorry you'll need 2 more jobs to support yourself and you need a college degree but you have no hopes of ever payin those loans off? I feel like until those of us who are already invested in this profession can truly actually make change occur it's hard to recommend others to invest in our profession. They can go to school and go teach kindergarten and make 30,000 more a year and actually have a livable wage. But those of us who are working in the daily grind in early education unless we're married to somebody who has health insurance and has a good paying job we can't support ourselves on our own.

I love the smiles of children when they learn something new. I love the bugs I get. I love the funny things they say. But I hate that I work 50 hours a week for little money and little respect. 

John you're right there are good and inspiring things about our field but it is always easier to look at or focus on the negatives.  I'll be honest the negatives for me, lack of support from management, etc. started to overshadow the positives, such as when my biter actually stopped himself before biting someone.  I hope that upcoming documentary film Make a Circle will help shed some light on the ECE field for the general public.

This post began with a call to change the narrative from how many people are leaving to field to a more positive message, but what is that?  Instead of a positive discussion, the replies have been lamentations about low pay and lack of benefits.  Yes, these are problems that need to be addressed, but how do we change the tone of how we talk about our field.  How do we inspire and share all of the wonderful things about early care and education?

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

We need great pay and benefits for all those who work with young children

I've been in early education for nearly 20 years. I enjoy early education but it is hard to try and recruit new people when things are so bad. How do you tell someone come to this profession and teach the littlest learners. But I'm sorry you'll need 2 more jobs to support yourself and you need a college degree but you have no hopes of ever payin those loans off? I feel like until those of us who are already invested in this profession can truly actually make change occur it's hard to recommend others to invest in our profession. They can go to school and go teach kindergarten and make 30,000 more a year and actually have a livable wage. But those of us who are working in the daily grind in early education unless we're married to somebody who has health insurance and has a good paying job we can't support ourselves on our own.

I love the smiles of children when they learn something new. I love the bugs I get. I love the funny things they say. But I hate that I work 50 hours a week for little money and little respect. 

John you're right there are good and inspiring things about our field but it is always easier to look at or focus on the negatives.  I'll be honest the negatives for me, lack of support from management, etc. started to overshadow the positives, such as when my biter actually stopped himself before biting someone.  I hope that upcoming documentary film Make a Circle will help shed some light on the ECE field for the general public.

This post began with a call to change the narrative from how many people are leaving to field to a more positive message, but what is that?  Instead of a positive discussion, the replies have been lamentations about low pay and lack of benefits.  Yes, these are problems that need to be addressed, but how do we change the tone of how we talk about our field.  How do we inspire and share all of the wonderful things about early care and education?

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------

Hello Ana, 

I am excited to read your post and respond. I'd like to share something from my research and instruction over the years that connects to the subject of issues with hiring staff and with teachers leaving the field.  One suggestion I shared with many directors is to conduct "stay interviews".  These are a structured discussion a leader conducts with each individual employee to learn the specific actions he/she must take to strengthen that employee's engagement and retention with the organization.  If you google "stay interviews", you will see a lot of information but I prefer the data that keeps the questionning on a positive note. I've noticed many "stay interview" questionnaires that begin "positive", but the tone changes and ask questions such as "what can we improve".  The overall goal of "stay interview" is to hilight the positive, and make it even better than the last "stay interview".  I have attached some "stay interview" guidelines, sample questions, etc.  You will notice the attachment is from the National Institutes of Health, Workforce Planning and I know this isn't early childhood but nevertheless, it's a great guide so check it out and feel free to use it.  I realize that the information I have shared is something directors/admin might utilize but keep reading. My suggestion is to take this a step further and job shadow a few directors as they do "stay interviews", bring some of those postive messages back to your class maybe in the form of short videos' of the director and teacher.  You might select a few of your top favorites teachers to be guest speakers in your class so they can share why they love their job (a repeat of what they said in the "stay interview), and how they got started in their role, etc.  Next, recruit a few of your journalism/communication graduate majors on campus to help and you could take a few short clips from your guest speakers with your classes, and your job shadowing with directors and make it into an infomercial for the early childhood program at your college to increase enrollment into your program, promote new scholarships, etc. The sky is the limit! 

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Tammy Rutland
Consultant
Grant Writing LLC
MS

Original Message:
Sent: 03-22-2024 10:06 AM
From: Ana O'Connor
Subject: Reshaping the Narrative

Hello,

Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with a director, like many in our field she is having issues hiring staff. The discourse surrounding teachers leaving the field has been pervasive and concerning. While it's crucial to address these issues and work towards solutions. We must also recognize the unintended consequences of highlighting the negatives. I think we have a unique opportunity to reshape the narrative surrounding teaching. 

As a faculty member I am asking myself how can I/we  change the conversation. How can I/ we inspire, empower, and encourage individuals to join us in the profession? Let's showcase the beauty and endless possibilities that come with being an educator. 

Love to hear from others,

Ana 

------------------------------
Ana O'Connor
Professor
San Antonio College Early Childhood Center
TX
------------------------------