After an unexpected hiatus we are back! Your host Tashianna O’Connor has some exciting developments from her own daycare.

She also attended a public meeting for a prospective charter school in her area and the whole community turned out to have their say about the education their children receive and be heard about their needs.

It is inspiring to see the level of engagement and she has shared some video of the meeting.

Reach out:

If you would like to share your experiences or join Tasheianna for an episode, send a mail to:

[email protected]

In this episode Tashieanna O’Connor is joined by Merrill Gay of the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance.

In this sobering but hopeful discussion Merril talks about the consequences of the recent elections, and how the outcomes may have negative results for Head Start and childcare programmes in Connecticut and around the country, as well as implications for providers, many of whom are not from the USA.

He will also share some peculiar challenges specific to Connecticut as there are spending limitation programmes that mean government has funds it won’t spend, and drops some hints about some good news hopefully coming out of the next legislative session.

Find the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance

https://www.cteca.org/

Find Child Care for CT

https://www.childcareforct.org/

Reach out:

If you would like to share your experiences or join Tasheianna for an episode, send a mail to:

[email protected]

In this week’s thought provoking episode your host Tashieanna O’Connor is joined by Alex, a paraprofessional from The Bronx.

They dig in to Alex’s experiences in inner city schools and the challenges that face the children, many of who have struggles outside of the classroom.

Alex believes that many challenges faced by children in their schooling can be countered by involved parenting, but reaching those parents can be difficult, while most care they can be single parents, or have multiple jobs to make ends meet which means they struggle to be available.

Alex and Tashieanna also go into methods for communication with parents for maximum impact, and the importance of more life focussed education and skills

So tune in and get a fascinating perspective on these and many topics.

Reach out:

If you would like to share your experiences or join Tasheianna for an episode send a mail to:

[email protected]

This week Tashieanna is joined by Paulette Atkinson, a teacher working in Miami Florida working with high school students with special needs, particularly with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities.

Paulette shares stories of joy working with kids with needs and importance of the curriculum focusing on life skills and taking children out in public, and challenges like paperwork and admin requirements meaning less time to spend with the kids.

But while many public school systems have proper programs and curricula, with elections coming it’s important to ensure that you are not voting for politician who will cut these programs for short term gain.

While you may feel your vote doesn’t matter, especially in the presidential election there are also congress people and local elections which have a huge impact on local issues like education.

For tutoring and reading instruction contact Paulette at [email protected]

Election resources:

https://www.usa.gov/voter-research

https://www.vote411.org/ballot

https://www.votesmart.org/

https://portal.ct.gov/sots/election-services/voter-information/voter-registration-information

Reach out:

If you would like to share your experiences or join Tasheianna for an episode, send a mail to:

[email protected]

With the US elections coming it’s important for childcare providers, educators and parents to take a close look at the policies of candidates to see where they should put their vote.

And this episode Tashieanna O’Connor is going to highlight how important it is to look at more than just the presidential election. After all laws come from congress, and your congressional representatives and senators are arguably more important than who is president.

Polls have shown that policies to help educators and providers are universally popular, across party lines, so politicians should be backing measures to support them.

Examine their policies and promises, vote for who is promising to look after providers and educators. And once you’ve voted them in, hold them accountable.

So do your part and vote for a better life for childcare providers, educators, parents and children.

Election resources:

https://www.usa.gov/voter-research

https://www.vote411.org/ballot

https://www.votesmart.org/

https://portal.ct.gov/sots/election-services/voter-information/voter-registration-information

Reach out:

If you would like to share your experiences or join Tasheianna for an episode, send a mail to:

[email protected]

In this week’s episode Tashienna O’Connor sat down with Deon, a program assistant at an after school program in east Harlem.

After school programs face some unique challenges, one of the main ones being that students who struggle with reading and maths often need to spend a lot of extra time catching up on academic work and doing homework, and not being able to do the other activities which include DIY, catering and even martial arts. Skills that can help them to develop more diverse sets of skills and unwind from academic stresses.

Especially tough because most aftercare staff are not qualified educators, so this is a burden on staff and students alike.

So listen in and get a view of the good and the bad of afterschool programs.

Find Deon’s program here:

https://www.eastharlemscholars.org/

Reach out:

If you would like to share your experiences or join Tasheianna for an episode send a mail to:

[email protected]

This episode Tashieanna was joined by Ramon Spencer, who has worked in Youth and Community Development for over 16 years.

They discuss the differences between youth programs available in New York and other states, New York's relatively decent funding not being appropriately allocated, and problems caused by after school care being an extension of the school environment and curriculum.

Kids and youths are not developing rounded skill sets due to focus on schooling and testing and this has repercussions on their later life.

Tune in for this and a lot more.

Reach out:

If you would like to share your experiences or join Tasheianna for an episode send a mail to:

[email protected]

In this week’s episode host Tashieanna O’Connor sat down with Ishmael Jackson, a former Teacher’s Assistant from the Bronx in New York who now works in a correctional facility for juvenile offenders in Michigan.

Ishmael’s experience in under resourced special needs classes in the Bronx contrast quite a lot with his experiences since getting to Michigan where even schools have more resources, and young offenders can get their education while in prison.

He also has fascinating perspectives on how children fall into the correctional system, and how to keep them out so tune in for this fascinating and enlightening conversation.

Reach out:

If you would like to share your experiences or join Tasheianna for an episode send a mail to:

[email protected]

On this week’s episode of “Childcare Challenges: Dilemmas in Daycare” your host Tashieanna was joined by 3 dynamic guests.

Tina Butz, Denise Cressman and Ethel Bergen are long time carers from Pennsylvania who have seen massive changes in the field.

Starting out in the 90s and going through funding cuts, economic downturns, covid and increased administrative burdens and the consequences of these on the children in their care they have valuable perspectives on insights on how the child care business needs to be changed and treated to get new people and keep quality carers who leave due to the bad conditions.

So listen in, and see their perspective.

Reach out:

If you would like to share your experiences or join Tasheianna for an episode send a mail to:

[email protected]

On this week’s episode of “Childcare Challenges: Dilemmas in Daycare” your host Tashieanna sat down on a call with Alan Troy, a former education worker who left the field in 2020.

Alan was a school aid worker who started out in the lunch room and moved on to other roles, many not strictly part of his job, and Alan’s perspective of the education field, and what drove him out are very valuable.

His experiences being overworked due to lack of budget and training for new staff, what it takes to keep kids fed and working as an assistant during Covid lockdowns give him a unique insight and perspective.

So tune in an get a different view of education and how to keep good people.

Reach out:

If you would like to share your experiences or join Tasheianna for an episode send a mail to:

[email protected]