My Hopes and
Dreams for ECE
The one hope I have when I think about working with children
and families who come from diverse backgrounds is complete acceptance for who
they are and what they look like, because as it stands, diversity is a constant
battle.
According to Derman-Sparks,
& Olsen Edwards, 2010, “As children grow, they move into an even wider and
more diverse settings, and we want them to be open to and respectful of all
kinds of people they may encounter” (p. 85): “If we want children to thrive in
a diverse world and choose to stand up for themselves and others, then we must
choose to help young children make sense out of the confusing and often
emotionally charged messages they receive about themselves and others” (p. 87).
Derman-Sparks, & Olsen Edwards, 2010, also encourages us that we should, “take
seriously all of children’s expressions or behaviors that reflect negative
messages about their racial identity or feelings of inferiority or superiority”,
and to “remember that what may seem like a ‘“little thing”’ by itself to you
can add up with other little things to cause serious harm, so don’t ignore it”
(p. 83).
The one goal I would like to set for the early childhood
field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice, is a higher
and more competitive pay with the rest of the education sector, and to be
completely received and recognized as an honored and respected profession, and
not babysitting.
As Pelo, 2008, reports that, “improving working conditions
and professional status for early childhood educators is critical to developing
high-quality early childhood and school-readiness programs”, and that “poor
teacher compensation has long been a major challenge for the field of early
care and education; In addition, in 2004, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the median annual salary of a childcare worker was just under
$18,000, and that, the vast majority of childcare workers qualify as low-income
or living in poverty” (p. 201). Pelo, 2008, also reports that, according to the
American Federation of Teachers, the hourly wages for an Elementary Teacher is $23.42,
Kindergarten Teacher is $22.62, Preschool Teacher is $12.45, and Childcare
Worker is $9.05; furthermore, the mean annual salary of childcare workers in
the United States in 2006 was $18,820, and the AFT reports that since 1973 the
hourly wage of childcare workers with some college education has gone up 39
cents: childcare workers’ wages are compared to parking lot attendants $8.33,
bell hops $8.83, and animal trainers $14.39” (p. 204).
Colleagues’, as we come to the closing of another
professional class I feel that we are even stronger and more equipped to
conquer the problems of diversity in any of its forms with-in our profession of
educating children of any age as we also keep their families encouraged with
our acceptance and respect for their unique heritages and cultures. I take this
time to thank each of you for all your comments and insights as we went on our
entire journey of learning. Sometimes we agreed, and sometimes we disagreed,
but we respectfully learned with and from each other and gained new insights on
issues that we never thought mattered, or was a bother to someone else. My sincerer
prayer for each of you is that you go out and conquer with the echoes of each
person’s comments and thoughts as we attempt to strike a fire for change in our
world by starting with our own communities. I’ll miss our times together in
discussions and blogs as we shared our thoughts and concerns while learning
more through each class that represented steps towards the finish line and the
beginning of our fight for the very BEST for children our students, and their
families. Take care colleagues and let’s keep properly caring and advocating
children and their families.
References
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and
Ourselves. Washington, DC: National
Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC).
Pelo, A. (Ed.). (2008). Rethinking early childhood
education. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking
Schools.
