There were two major points in our book that made an impression on me about childcare. The first point that really got my attention was that childcare has to be available and affordable for working families (Decker, et al., 2005). This is an issue that I am facing as a director in these economical times. I am having more and more middle class families finding it hard to afford quality childcare. We accept all of the financial services that are out there but we have a selection of families that do not qualify for it but are barely paying for their childcare.
The book also mentions that the value parents place on specific aspects of a program may overshadow quality aspects (Decker, et al., 2005). Some parents are looking for childcare programs based on hours of operation, tuition, and convenience rather than class sizes, ratios and teacher qualifications. Granted there are many parents that have done research and have questions about the quality but it’s always sad to see a child leave because of our school hours.
I also read the article about childcare as a big business. It’s not a surprise to see that childcare has become a corporate big business. In the last 10 years, the demands for childcare have raises exponentially. Society has changed and moms (or parents) are no longer staying home and everyone has a career. Since there has been this change, a market for childcare has opened up so it was only a matter of time before for-profit, big business childcare would emerge. It works too because families want to feel comfortable with sending their little ones to a place they know or heard about. If these big business childcare programs are around, families will feel comfortable with sending their child to it because of it’s “name”. I definitely don’t want to be comparing childcare to Wal-mart but essentially that’s basically what it is. We are creatures of habit and no matter where we go, we are all familiar and comfortable with the inside of Wal-mart.
I know what you mean about it being difficult for families to afford childcare. I know families who are not able to receive financial assistance for childcare because their income is too high but still they do not make that much so they cannot put their child in their preferred program because the cost is too high. Childcare is definitely a growing need with as you said more and more parents having to work. I know that I was unable to pay for childcare when my first daughter was born and my mom worked so I found a night time job but could only work a few days a week as to not overwhelm my mom. Hopefully there will be a way for people with young children to afford quality childcare in the future.
ReplyDeleteKawai
VIA SUSAN WOOD
ReplyDeleteI wanted to post to Sarah's blog and when I pressed "Post a Comment" it wouldn't let me. So here it is in e-mail. I still am only able to get on some sites and others need to invite me.
Hi Sarah, I found it interesting reading your blog from your director's point of view. I'm a preschool teacher on Kauai and I also see families making decisions based on affordability and not so much on quality. I find myself in the middle of this issue because I have a 4 month old daughter. I find myself wondering if I didn't have finicial aid for her, where would she go? My first daughter didn't go to preschool at all because I couldn't afford it and my second daughter went to Head Start. I felt as if I didn't have a choice as a mom. Now years later I find that I can have a choice of preschools because I was able to get help with the tuition. I can look at the quality of the preschools, teacher-child ratio, teacher qualifications, accredition, class size, and so on.
Another thing is that when I talk to mothers who are pregnant or have young children they don't know that they should already being looking at preschools for their child. Is there a way that these families can get the information? Through the doctors? Media? Schools?
One thing that puzzled me about your blog was comparing children to Wal-mart. Did you mean that preschools should be as comfortable as Wal-mart is to everyone? For example reasonable prices, friendly greeting, and good products? I was a little bit confused.
Susan
ReplyDeleteI'm not comparing the children to wal-mart - even though I like the reasonable prices and friendly greetings. I was comparing Wal-mart to Big Business Preschools. Big business preschool companies are run like like Wal-mart in that they both capitalize on name recognition, and the way towns react to Wal-mart. Where big business preschools and wal-mart may not be the best choice but because the familiarity families won't take a risk on the mom and pop stores or small busines preschools. hope that clears it up.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with affordable childcare being a big issue, especially now. At times it can be very difficult to afford care without any type of subsidies to help. I'm actually someone who receives aid from Kamehameha Schools to send my son to preschool, if it weren't for them I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be in school right now. Times are hard now and it's really sad that some children aren't as fortunate to be getting quality childcare due to costs. In a perfect world childcare would be affordable for everyone and all children could benefit from it, but we all know that the world isn't perfect.
-Jaychelle
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI agree your opinion about the childcare programs has become a big business. Indeed, there are more and more working moms in this modern society, and they have to find suitable programs for children's education. Because of the whole society has been changed, I think that as the preschool teachers, we need to spend more times to negotiate with the parents and try to fit their children's needs. Or suggest them to choose a suitable program.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how you connected Walmart and the big business of ece. As the Kilderry article suggests, when a center begins to exchange on the stock market, the purpose of the center changes. How might an administrator deal with the possible changes of a center becoming a publicly exchanged company?
I wonder how some of the Exchange articles might impact the questions and reflections you share in this post.
Jeanne
I love that technology has advanced so far that we are now allowed to take classes online. If it were not for online courses I would not be able to get a college education at all right now. I had a baby right out of high school and all my plans for going to the college of my dreams went right out the window. I just had to change my dream a little bit and now I am in my fourth year of college and hope to be graduated either late next year or early the year following. I feel very fortunate to be able to stay at home with my children and go to school.
ReplyDeleteI too think that administrator manuals are very helpful and in many cases necessary. I have never been in that type of position but I can imagine where it would be very helpful to have something to refer to whenever in a difficult position and need a little bit of guidance.
We had staff evaluations at the preschool I worked at and I loved it. I got to see what I needed to improve on and set goals for my self. It just made me more conscious of what I expected of myself and how I could make the children’s school year with me a more enjoyable experience.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDelete“Yes!” technology has open many opportunities for professors, teachers, and students like us (to obtain our degree). This is my second time taking an online class. My first time was a nightmare, but Dr. Iorio is so awesome to work with and very understanding, that I decided to take a second chance. I’m so glad that I did it!
I’m so glad that you made it through your first year as a director. Just remember that experience can make you a better person and director. To answer your question “How can the children in our community get a head when they are cutting all of our programs?” First, I have faith in our heavenly father God and second, I will give my students the knowledge that they need to get to the next level of education, and last help the families to find other programs that will help their children out.