Editor's note: Ms. Sebankova is responding to the BayToday article titled Percentage of early childhood educators in Ontario child care declining, despite goal.
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To the editor:
I found certain pieces of this article interesting and sparking thoughts about which conversations should continue to happen. I am an ECE student, currently completing my final semester before becoming a RECE. I have worked in daycares and online settings and have years of experience working with children within the camp and outdoor education industry with a background in sports management.
As I am approaching the final months before potentially entering the RECE workforce, I and many of my passionate peers fear the state in which the early childhood education field is currently in, especially when looking at livable wages and sustainable work conditions.
As mentioned within the article, RECEs have been advocating for change in these areas for years, and yet it appears our government is consistently pushing to meet a promised goal of expanding childcare space with zero thought about the first-line workers needed to make that happen and to keep and develop quality programs and care.
I believe the decline in RECEs should not be a shock, with the lack of support and willingness for improvement of the highlighted issues in the above paragraph. RECE has become a stepping stone for many to continue to degree programs or other areas within the childcare sectors that provide stability, sustainable working conditions, and livable working wages reflective of the current state of the economy.
The article highlights the issue of “staff retention,” which is key for any successful organization, centre, and/or business to provide stable, quality programming and care, most notably for children. Relationships are key within healthy childhood development, and the unfortunate high staff turnover within early childcare is detrimental to that.
Highlighted in the article is the following statement: looking out for the “best interest of the children,” said Jenna Sudds, the federal minister of families. And so, if that is our goal, and it most definitely should be, we need to look at what is really at the root of our problem within the ECE sector to ensure we can provide quality childcare programs and spaces that put children first.
And that starts with a commitment to improving RECE’s working conditions and wages to put passionate and dedicated educators into the child care centres and classrooms across the country.
Natalie Sebankova
Mississauga/Etobicoke
ECE Student, Humber Polytechnic
Sport Management Graduate, Humber Polytechnic
Outdoor Educator
