Value the Caregiver

The education industry is vast, it is a major employer and a large percentage of the worlds population go through the system it cuts across all ages and covers a wide range of subjects. The process starts from the same spot, the young children, maybe 3,4,5,6 years of age. At this point basic skills are inculcated in a child starting with motor skills, language and basic mathematics are introduced. This is the core, the foundation, the starting point to all the excellence the world experiences.

Having been in the education industry for the better part of my adult career life, I have seen the lives of young learners play out right before my eyes. I witnessed transitions ranging from separation anxiety, toileting, language and basic mannerisms shaping up. It is like watching the wake of a new day, the dawn, the sun making it's way to dry up the morning dew; highly needed but barely thought of.

What has become apparent to me, cutting across social classes and physical locations, people mandated to offer this much needed services are looked down upon. Yes, I said it, I was hoping to have a better way of expressing myself but I could not sweeten the deal it is harsh ,unnecessary and totally uncalled for. I am talking about early childhood education teachers and home caregivers for children, they are mostly bundled into one not so highly thought of individuals. The children in question on the other hand are viewed as the future, the arrow sent to the next generation as mentioned in the Bible. They are loved on, pampered, cozied up and they deserve it but so do the amazing adults that care for them.

Children are a beautiful, innocent and loveable; they exhume loving emotions from adults, at least for me. I love how quick they forgive and forget, I wanna borrow a leaf from them. They are a handful too, they call for patience, consistency and much more to inculcate the values that will help them function better in the society. All this is not learnt in a whim, it comes from the sacrificial work of the dedicated men and mostly women who do the job.

Many young people detests the education field and more literally abhor, loathe the Early Childhood Education field. Is it because they dislike working with children? Some do but most have a record of ill treatment, devaluation evident in our society of the years directed towards those serving in this industry.

It starts with paying them better, addressing them as the noble people they are and appreciating their work. Yes, the children are the future and their future is in the hands of their caregivers.