Is An Early Childhood Degree Worth It?

[Sahm121]

@catherder - it’s amazing to see what we can challenge as far as legistations. During covid there was an exception that anyone in a licensure program could skip student teaching and organizations like Teach for America also have connections where that can be waived…:: so that means that asking for our current experience to be recognized shouldn’t be that hard!!

[Cat Herder]

I love that idea.

[Cat Herder]

I get it, too. We get tired of defending our hands on experience and previous education to those with non-transferable college degrees. They want us divided. I love continuing education, I invest a lot of personal time in it, for me. I don't love government forcing private business owners to buy into their mandatory fake degree programs that filter out more effective employees and better candidates.

Subsidy providers, sure, the catch of the "free" money, but private businesses? Nope. Forcing us to take subsidy is a no go, too. Never again. The issue is much bigger than a willingness to learn, I believe we all share that desire, most simply can't afford to pay for the paper on the wall. Happily, we don't have to. It's free online and in public libraries.

[littlefriends]

That’s amazing!!

[QueenBee]

Thanks everyone for your responses. Not doing it for recognition. Just for me, the experience, to see if I can really do it, and for the value it would add to my practice.

[QueenBee]

Oh, ok. Thanks for sharing, looks very interesting!

[QueenBee]

Congratulations! And nice to hear that it allowed you to participate in something to bring about change in childcare.

[Sahm121]

I decided to get my bachelors in education and earn my teaching license: I applied for grants and scholarships and did it slowly. I earned my ECE PEL this June with a 4.0 GPA

it was exhausting and some moments were really tough. I had to do the student teaching requirement which financially was very tough.

is it worth it? I guess it depends who you ask. I know have a degree and license and can do a career change if I chose to. I can also qualify for different programs due to my degree. I earned the degree because it was something I wanted to do for myself. My dream was always to be a teacher and I felt that society looked down on Childcare and this was my way to showing myself that I AM a teacher and I guess patting myself on the back saying ‘good job’.

it has not changed anything in regards to daycare, except after student teaching I realized I loved my daycare so much!

so was it worth it? For me, yes. This was my dream and it was hard, but I did it

One really cool thing that my degree got me, is that because of it I am part of an advocacy group that is helping change the requirements for student teaching where we can get credit for doing childcare

[Sahm121]

I decided to get my bachelors in education and earn my teaching license: I applied for grants and scholarships and did it slowly. I earned my ECE PEL this June with a 4.0 GPA

it was exhausting and some moments were really tough. I had to do the student teaching requirement which financially was very tough.

is it worth it? I guess it depends who you ask. I know have a degree and license and can do a career change if I chose to. I can also qualify for different programs due to my degree. I earned the degree because it was something I wanted to do for myself. My dream was always to be a teacher and I felt that society looked down on Childcare and this was my way to showing myself that I AM a teacher and I guess patting myself on the back saying ‘good job’.

it has not changed anything in regards to daycare, except after student teaching I realized I loved my daycare so much!

so was it worth it? For me, yes. This was my dream and it was hard, but I did it

[MamaCaf]

I get it! I just get tired of having to defend my college education and the value of what I learned.

[Cat Herder]

The Best Start in Life: Early Childhood Development for Sustainable Development

https://www.edx.org/course/the-best-...od-development

This a free 8 week, self paced course. This is one of the professors:

Jack Shonkoff

Director at Harvard University Center on the Developing Child

[Cat Herder]

Also, if it is just the education you want, college is free online. This is my favorite site: https://www.khanacademy.org/test-pre...of-development


Overview of theories of development

[Cat Herder]

I did the CDA classes, first, too. They were fun and self-led. I did not have to step foot into a classroom for those. It is just too expensive to keep doing it over and over and over again to keep it. Like you, I thought the next round was going to be fun, but that is not what happened at all.

[Cat Herder]

My prime education came after my child died in daycare, unsupervised, un-noticed after 4 hours. I then went to emt training, paramedic school and state social services and foster parent training. Childcare was under the umbrella of Human Services (with fire, ems, police, social services) then and we were trained in physical care, health, safety planning, first aid, risk management, basic emergency medical, child skin care, nutrition, discipline techniques, basic firefighting/evacuation techniques and infant feeding and soothing techniques. There was no ECE. That came when they moved us under the "Dept of Education" umbrella, and everything became about funding and "early learning".

[Cat Herder]

Your 32 year career speaks for itself. Most wash out in under two. Now, imagine being required to go obtain a "degree" (non-transferable), by people you don't work for, who don't pay you, that does not transfer on year 22 of owning and running your own private, successful, daycare to keep your license. That is the program I am speaking of.