Submission #2376

It’s taken me a few days to really put my thoughts together on this. But I think I’m ready now. As an educator who’s been in the field for 6+ years, I can say that being an ECE is a hard but rewarding job. A few years ago a pedagogical support position came into the field and it was life changing. We had time each week that was guaranteed, even if someone was sick or ratio was high. Planning became an every week thing and my observations became more detailed, my planning became more creative and my overall well being improved. I loved hearing how excited my group was to spend time with the pedagogical support staff and to hear the different activities they did on my planning day. The pedagogical staff gives guaranteed planning and educators a money to step away and truly reflect. This has impacted my practice in such a positive way and it saddens me to hear there is talk of taking away those hours. If anything educators need more time and support rather than less. We all know how common burnout is in the ECE field and if we want to improve that we need to obtain the support we do have. And even consider more. The children deserve intentional planning, observations and learning experiences. I am my best self and educator when I have proper time to work, think and get creative. To take away this support even a little bit would be going back in the wrong direction. Educators are essential and children need prepared educators. I really hope that this decision can be reconsidered for the sake of all ECEs. – Signed a very passionate ECE