Covid is making us sick in more ways than one...

So far, my family and close friends have remained well.  I pray it stays that way, although as we become required to "get out there" to keep our jobs, masked and with hand sanitizer, we are exposed to more people...so I pray that if we get sick, we do not get too sick.  In March, it kept me up at night....now it is just a constant, "GULP, hope we are okay."

Today, twenty people I use to work with were laid off.  They were laid off by a place I love, respect and know that the decision was not made lightly.  And it just plain sucks.  It is the way of the world right now--and this economical position puts into light, the importance or lack of importance of so many things.

Our child care center is closing on our community college campus.  There is a director, an assistant director and an administrator.  I was that administrator from 2012-15.  I learned SO much in that position and feel confident that the current administrator and her skill set will help her become re-employed.  And then there are teachers.  Teachers that are like my son and my future daughter-in-law.  Teachers who love working with young children....

The director and assistant director are that--directors of childcare centers.  I hope and pray that they will get another position again soon.  And the teachers....The teachers are hard-working, albeit, decently paid in comparison to others in their positions at other center; they are teachers of young children.  These young children thrive in this environment in which the education of young children and training new teachers has been a priority for twenty years....and now, they are another victim of this disease...this economy...this ranking of what is more important than other things....A decision that had to be made, but the trickle down effect is unfair, sad, and another shadow on our education system.

 

In an article from the organization, Every Child Matters, there are so many benefits listed of early childhood education to the child--these benefits are long lasting: from higher wages as adults to lower involvement in the criminal justice system.  The trickle down and trickle up effect is frightening when we see programs like the one at my workplace closed down.  https://everychildmatters.org/the-importance-of-early-childhood-education/

In the article listed above, the studies show that the average childcare provider is paid $10.23 an hour.  That is barely above minimum wage in some areas....think carefully about that...an education that starts children on the right foot, that helps families be able to work, that can give them the head start to their educations, pays barely minimum wage.  And those childcare centers that are funded primarily from higher education are closing down at a rapid pace because they do pay a livable wage: and then cannot afford to do so.  When our schools shut down, we all raised the white flags...our teachers obviously worked hard with our children EVERY DAY....and the appreciation for this underpaid profession was suddenly on every meme, every parody video and everyone's lips---God love our teachers....

Our child care center was started for several reasons.  

First, it was to serve our students who were parents.  What a gift to be able to drop their children in a safe environment while they went to Nursing School or completed their general education requirements to transfer to a four year college.  

Secondly, it was to be used as a lab school.  The facility at my community college is beautiful.  It had one- way mirrors so that new education students could observe children in the classrooms who were taught by highly qualified students. It had a playground that the first director wrote a grant to pay for, made with natural products that enhanced the philosophy of children learning through play.  Several of the teachers at the center started their educations at this community college and returned after seeing how amazing it was to be in a lab school.

Lastly, the center was to serve the faculty/staff and community members with children.  Today, those folks were the majority of the those served.  Faculty and staff are now left wondering where they will send their children as well.  And the lucky community members who attended the center--stuck too.

To fund a center with the high caliber of teachers and to pay a living wage, even while being subsidized by the college, cost too much money--and tuition became too high for the average student to pay.  Subsidizing through scholarships for children and aid from the state was hard to do and not every parent qualified for either funding assistance.  The cost of the program, the pay of the teachers and the costs of the facility was more than the tuition could balance.  The college, in this economically desperate time, could not fund this center any longer.  The college relies on funding from the state and the federal government.  Everyone is taking a hit with COVID19...starting with our youngest of children.

We may have other cuts at my workplace, just as other community colleges and four year institutions will have.  On March 12, 2020, an opinion piece was published in Inside Higher Ed by Mark Huelson, just one day prior to my community college and much of the United States going into indefinite quarantine.  Mr. Huelson detailed then how important it was that the Department of Education move swiftly.  

The Department of Education did not act swiftly though.  We all went into hiding hoping the pandemic would go away.  Instead, restaurant jobs went away, hotel jobs went away, even health care workers were laid off if there jobs were not related to COVID care.  And now, our education jobs, those in which we care for our youngest children, are going away too.  A sickness like this will be felt for years to come--my prayers that we may "not get too sick" may not be enough.

"The real danger, however, may be lurking in the long-term fallout from the epidemic. Years of budget cuts and the failure to address basic student needs make higher education particularly vulnerable and potentially unequipped to deal with a crisis like this. It’s crucial that the U.S. Congress and the Department of Education act swiftly and aggressively and provide states and institutions with much-needed support before it’s too late."   https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/03/12/coronavirus-could-have-long-term-impact-state-funding-universities-opinion