Early educators need improved wages
Nanaimo News Bulletin
Aug 28 2009
Opinion
By: Michelle Hodgson, Nanaimo

To the Editor,

Re: Day care must be accessible, Aug. 25.

Thank you to the Nanaimo News Bulletin for addressing the ever-present issue of accessible child care for Canadian families.

I felt compelled to address this issue further.

Day care and early learning programs are unable to be separated. I believe there may be confusion amongst the general public on all that day care provides for children and families and that day care and early learning programs are not separate organizations.

Children under the age of six learn life-long and necessary concepts in social, cognitive, physical and emotional areas of development through solitary play, play with peers and with direction and support that only highly qualified early childhood educators can provide.

Only when the importance of early learning and the many needs for accessible day care are realized will positive change begin to happen.

In Nanaimo, the average wage for a fully qualified early childhood educator with a university diploma and specializations in both special needs and infant and toddler development is approximately $16/hr, rarely with any added benefits.

The average wage in B.C. for a university graduate is $20/hr with added benefits.

Often, this is the main reason for ECEs leaving the field to find more lucrative and less physically and mentally exhausting work in other fields.

If the provincial government recognized this as a root problem and supplemented qualified child-care providers' wages, …child care centres would no longer have to fully rely on parent fees to pay staff, hopefully leading to more affordable and accessible day care for all families in the province.