There has been a lot in the news lately about early childhood education in Canada. The discussion centres mostly on how affordable it is and how government can support families to access good care for their young children. What’s missing from the dialogue, and has been forever, is any real recognition for the amazing people who provide this vital care to our children.

Considering that what happens to us from zero to six years will shape the way we function throughout our life, early childhood educators carry a huge responsibility. Unfortunately, they don’t carry a huge pay cheque to match. But talk to early childhood educators and you’ll soon realize they didn’t enter the field expecting an executive salary but because they love children and want to make a positive difference in their lives.

There has been a lot in the news lately about early childhood education in Canada. The discussion centres mostly on how affordable it is and how government can support families to access good care for their young children. What’s missing from the dialogue, and has been forever, is any real recognition for the amazing people who provide this vital care to our children.

Considering that what happens to us from zero to six years will shape the way we function throughout our life, early childhood educators carry a huge responsibility. Unfortunately, they don’t carry a huge pay cheque to match. But talk to early childhood educators and you’ll soon realize they didn’t enter the field expecting an executive salary but because they love children and want to make a positive difference in their lives.

I’m hoping as the history of early childhood education continues to gain recognition, so too will these incredible educators.

It wasn’t until the last two hundred years or so that the importance of childhood was even recognized. But by the age of five to seven, young children were treated like miniature adults and seen as one more hand in the daily labor of life. Most at this age were exposed to adult life with very little censorship.

Until fairly recently, our society believed that “real learning” and life formation, began after the age of five or six, with entry to kindergarten. With the creation of nursery schools and kindergarten around the 1930’s, and young mothers flooding the workforce during the Second World War, more facts became known about early childhood development. But the profession didn’t really begin to blossom until after 1969.

The 70’s and 80’s marked vast social change (the women’s movement, world political shifts) and how it affected children. The result was an abundance of information demonstrating the critical stage of the early years (from zero to six) to support learning and future life success.  Demand for quality early childhood care services grew as our awareness of the critical stages of learning increased.

Today, early childhood educators require specific theoretical and practical skills to do their job well. For example, they need a strong understanding of human development as well as some background in health, education and psychology.

Early childhood educators in British Columbia are required to fulfill, at minimum, a diploma-level (two-year) academic program at a recognized college or university. They also must complete 500 hours of on-site interning in a licensed early childhood setting (daycare, preschool, kindergarten, therapy program) prior to receiving a provincial license.

Early Childhood Educators who work with age groups younger than three, called Infant-Toddler Educators or Special Needs Educators, have completed another series of courses (usually a year or two more) to obtain this specialization. Again, these early childhood educators must be licensed in their specialty prior to working with this age group.

People are often surprised to find out that the people working in licensed day care facilities are college or university graduates with accredited early childhood training and are required, by provincial regulation, to be licensed. They are also often shocked to discover that these professionals, in many cases, are working for just a bit better than minimum wage.

So the next time you meet an early childhood educator, let him or her know how much you value what they do. Speak out in support of our early childhood educators. And soon, hopefully, society will catch on and recognize their true value as well.