You’re the engine that makes all things go
And you’re always in disguise, my hero
I see your light in the dark
“Good Job” –Alicia Keys
As a former early childhood teacher and current associate professor of early childhood education, I am concerned, to put it mildly, about essential education professionals being overlooked or discounted in discussions and policies for P-12 teachers and brick and mortar schools. There are thousands of families depending on home daycare providers to teach and care for their children. I suspect the need has increased since this health pandemic, and those in dire need are families who live in poverty and the working poor, a disproportionate percentage of whom are Black and Latinx.
These lyrics from Alicia Keys’ latest single “Good Job” captures rather pointedly the essential work of home daycare professionals. They graciously open their homes as developmentally appropriate places and spaces that are carefully designed and created to serve and support our youngest learners and their families. These home daycare professionals are, as Keys sings, the “engine that makes all things go.” In-home daycare professionals allow the families of the children they serve to continue working as they risk their lives daily on the frontlines to ensure that their children do not experience any loss in learning. The threat of lost learning looms with the continued spreading of coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) that has resulted in countless child care centers and schools closing and remaining closed through the end of the school year, if not longer.
Despite these school closings, the dedication and commitment of these unsung essential workers and the goods and services they provide (i.e., quality education and care) are often described and misinterpreted as merely “babysitting.” This mischaracterization disguises and relegates the invaluable work of daycare professionals who are primarily women, and disproportionately women of color (e.g., Black and Latinx), to the shadows of non-essential work. The devaluing of their work is reflected in low wages, lack of or inadequate health insurance, and lack of any financial savings amid the loss of jobs and the fear of losing their jobs.
