On Fear and Change
I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to write about my current professional status. I feel really good about where I am and what I’m doing now, but it is definitely not what I was doing a month ago. My identity has always been so wrapped up in the work that I do that I don’t know how to thing of myself these days. It’s scary, but it’s also exciting. So, without further ado…
I’m no longer with H&R Block. It’s bittersweet because there are so many things and people I loved about working there. That said, I just had some fundamental disagreements about how we should approach certain problems and those turned out to be insurmountable - for both of us. I love working with people in the field of technology; I’ve been doing it for a long time and it’s time for me to apply my efforts and skills elsewhere.
Many people know that I started my professional life as a teacher and I have a masters degree in education. Many people also know that my husband and I helped my sister establish a successful in home daycare. She was ready to expand and the timing of my departure from Block was convenient. I’ve spent the last month working with her to find a new location and expand her business to a commercial, licensed facility with more kids, more staff, and more programs. We are so excited, and there are so many reasons why.
Child care and early childhood education are severely under valued in the US. We pay poorly, provide poor benefits, and then ask people to spend more waking hours with our children than we do in their most formative years. I know working moms, and surely dads, everywhere have experienced the guilt, the regret, and the frustration of choosing (or in some cases not being able to choose) one path or another. It all comes together to create a difficult situation for everyone.
We plan to focus on a lot of different areas and we have more plans for the future than we can feasibly articulate. But this is where we’re starting:
- Paying teachers well above the industry average
- Working with teachers to pursue higher education so they can hone their skills to provide great learning experiences for kids
- Attracting teachers who already have degrees in early childhood education to perform like the experienced professionals they are with the promise of not being treated like glorified baby sitters
- Helping kids learn and apply practical life skills so they can grow in independence and in contributing to home life in meaningful always
- Exposing kids to high-quality foods they normally wouldn’t eat as they explore various world cuisines as part of their learning
- Focusing on digital literacy and the importance of using screens and technology as a tool rather than a vice
- Creating books, materials, and ideas families can take home to reinforce the learning they experience at the center
- Providing in home consulting services to help smooth the transition between school and home environments and expectations
We also want to provide opportunities for working parents to take advantage of things that are normally outside the realm of possibility like baby and me fitness classes and engagement with other families in a flexible way that accommodates work schedules. We want to expand into providing after school and summer care programs for school age kids. More than anything, we want to make sending your kids to day care a pleasurable and exciting experience rather than one fraught with guilt, frustration, and fear.
So, that is what comes next for me. I’m more than a little frightened and the sudden and substantial professional pivot. I’m also more excited to take this on than I have been for any work in a very long time.