I just got laid off a week and a half ago. I was a ticket person at the the Museum of Fine Arts but they just let me go saying my position wasn't needed anymore. I've been searching for jobs, but in order for me to pay rent I need something a little more than minimum wage. My friend tried to get me a job at Clover but they pay $14.
In the meantime I think I'm about to work at Dunkin because I need money right now. But I would rather not.
So with the rise of all these early education corporate chains overshadowing local centers, what is the point of the education we are forced to obtain through the required certificate classes?
For these companies they already have a built in curriculum. The company already designed classrooms without staff input. The company already has a schedule they want staff to follow. The company already has policies on how they want staff to handle behavior.
What is the point of going through classes if we just end up being cogs in these companies' machines? At that point, experience matters more than what we can get in an adult classroom being lectured at by adults about the child care space. If the exception is using the knowledge we gain prior to joining this career only to be met with a nah just do what the company requires then again what the fuck is the point anymore?
Entry level positions are almost non-existent now because chances are if the job board post says no certificate needed the response after applying is actually we need lead teachers. If you don't have community centers and such that have programs for elementary ➕ students how can you actually experience working in the field? Also child care centers really don't want to hear about kids older than 5.
Lastly, when you finally do find a way to get experience if it sounds like you had far more freedom than what the company allows then chances are they won't hire you.
Treating education like fast food frustrates me. I just got certified, but already have over a decade of experience in a variety of context working with kids young as 2. The main context is I worked 7 years straight at an enrichment center that happened to include child care. I eventually got my own room, which the director gave me complete freedom over how I could use it. But when I bring this up I'm being met the company already has a system in place, we just follow it. Then on the next day they send the automated reply of we are not moving forward with your application at the time, thank you for coming in.
I guess I need the next level of certification? Fucking hell. I guess I should lie about my experience and say I only did what this enrichment center wanted me to do? I literally made a learning space from scratch. A years worth of content from scratch. Through experiences outside the enrichment center I combined them together to create my teaching style. And I just got certified.
Would I get hired if I sound like an ass kisser instead?
I had to get this off my chest.