Philadelphia schools closed – our daycares didn’t

Anna B. – Philadelphia, PA

daycare2.png

“My name is Anna, I’m a preschool teacher in Philadelphia and a member of Socialist Alternative.

Like most working people around the world right now, my coworkers and I felt nervous about the risk to our health, as well as unsure about what would happen with our jobs.

We spent extra time cleaning our classrooms hoping to mitigate the risk to ourselves and our students. But anyone who has ever worked with young children or had a child in a daycare knows how germs spread like wildfire.

Although we tried to follow the “common sense” guidelines about hand washing and not touching your face, it felt like there was only so much we could do surrounded by 2-5 year olds! I work in a toddler classroom and most of my students don’t know how to cover their mouths or blow their noses without help. Common sense hygiene measures aren’t common sense for preschoolers who are just learning what personal space is! 

For early childhood educators, wiping noses, changing diapers, kissing bumped heads, and holding wiggly kids on our laps are things we do countless times each day. Catching a stomach bug or pink eye is somewhat of an occupational hazard for us, and even then many childcare workers have insufficient or no paid sick time. Working while potentially exposed to a dangerous virus that can easily be transmitted by people who are asymptomatic puts us, our students, and our whole community at risk. My coworkers and I felt extremely relieved when our center eventually closed for two weeks with full pay for teachers. 

But daycares are still being considered essential in Philadelphia right now and closure is being left up to individual employers. Things are even worse in some places, like Oregon where the state was considering allowing centers to exceed the established caregiver to child ratios! To limit the spread of this virus daycares and preschools should be closed in cities and states where public schools are closed. 

A limited number of childcare centers should remain open for essential workers who need childcare. This should be voluntary, and all workers who choose to remain home should maintain full pay. Childcare workers continuing to work during this crisis should receive hazard pay and these centers need to be cleaned daily.

As childcare workers, we care for young children in their most developmentally important years while parents go to work. We know that for many working parents, loss of childcare is a complete disaster. No parent should have to choose between paying their bills and putting their family’s health at risk. I think it is absolutely critical that all parents are granted full paid parental leave for the duration of this crisis. Without paid leave for parents, we know children will be the ones who suffer most. 

All childcare workers need to maintain our jobs with full pay and benefits for the duration of the crisis as well. For many small centers this will be impossible without state or federal funds. This burden can’t be shifted onto working parents or childcare workers. We live in the richest country in the history of the world, but the 1% and the political establishment consistently choose to cut corners when it comes to the safety and well-being of children. We need to tax big corporations like Amazon and Comcast to fund full pay for childcare workers and paid leave for parents during this crisis. The only way we are going to make it out of this disaster is if all working people join together to fight for the things we need to keep ourselves, our children, and our communities safe!”

Previous
Previous

Starbucks: A tale of sickness

Next
Next

I found out from the mayor I was laid off.