How do you tell someone you like, " I really dont care if you lose your job"?

sometimes I run into a dilemna with my beliefs about wasting tax payers dollars and a real-life in-person encounter... i work in childcare and for decades, the funding for various things just came straight to us. But then things started to change.... different levels of groups and committees started popping up, with people paid at each level with tax payer dollars, in order to 'coordinate' on a local level. Now, for many things, I do not believe in centralization... but in this case, when you have federal and provincial money being sent to Edmonton for various childcare needs, it should probably just get sent straight out in the most direct way (if they are going to have the funding in the first place), not drizzled down through multiple layers like 'southern alberta region' and then the local city and town regions. All of the people along the way are getting good full time wages and using up some of the money that is supposed to be going to our KIDS and their families.

There was a city/district meeting last night in my city pertaining to this and the co-ordinator was worried that some big changes coming are going to mean an end to her job.... well booo fricken hoooo. That job title did not even exist 5 years ago and every center in the city managed to run and get funding before that... so what was this job actually FOR? I know she makes more money per hour than I do, and I am the front line worker actually with these children all day. Why does a coordinator who sits around filling out bazillions of govt forms get more? And in a job that wasnt even needed or in place only 5 years ago? So what if she loses her job? Seriously.. what is the job even FOR?? I guess the Alberta govt knows that it is in hot water with spending, and less revenue to boot, so it's looking at downsizing. We should be happy about that. Sure, it sucks that the top dogs never seem to take a pay cut and get their bloated cheques for sitting around posturing and doing basically nothing most of the time, but if there are lower level jobs that are completely unnecessary, why not save some money there?

I had to bite my tongue right off because I did not think it was the proper venue to say 'well, so what? your job title is completely useless and has been a waste of tax payers money for the past 5 years'. But I was also a chicken lol. I could have thought of a nicer way to put it, I suppose, but its never easy to look right at a person youve known for a long time and like and say 'you SHOULD lose your job, no one should get paid to do what you do'. Sure, she has helped organized a few workshops each year, but half the time we cant go to them anyway because they happen during the week and we are ummm working! But we also managed to look after hundreds upon hundreds of children since the center opened in 1988 without ANY of these programs and workshops and coordinators. My boss was the chair person several times over the years and never got paid a dime for the organizing she did, so why is there someone in that position now, making over $50,000 a year? That's more than DOUBLE what I make after almost 20 years in direct child care. im sure that money can be used elsewhere.

and people always cry out that they are taking money away from our children and more needs to be put in early childhood education... well I am a person that does believe in ECE, however, not at the cost of everyone else in the province and country. I believe it's good for kids to learn a few things before they go to school, but I dont expect to churn out a bunch of little einsteins that are going to be bored to death in kindergarten and grade one if we teach them too much... I also am well aware that the greatest minds in history didnt have preschool classes. Some of them grew up in poverty but happened to be brilliant. How about the NASA scientists that ended up putting a man on the moon in the 60s... when they were little kids, did they all go to preschool? Doubtful, especially if they grew up in smaller areas.

Today preschool is really a babysitter for most people. I look at my job as making sure that children are safe and having fun while their parents are working. I enjoy teaching them new things and helping them experience the wonders of playdough, glue, and glitter. But my number one mission is to ensure that their parents can be at work all day and know that their children are safe and happy. I am a parent of three, and Ive had one of my children with another caregiver before he came to my center (age restriction)... he came home with THIRTEEN BRUISES one day from that place and I never want another parent to feel the way that I did. NEVER. It was horrible. I felt terrible and so full of anger. My mission is to never have another parent doubt their child's care and be able to work and concentrate on that and not worry about their child. I cant think of a better job in the world than making sure these tiny humans are safe and well cared for. I dont care if they can read when they go to kindergarten, because that's what K is for! I dont care if they cant write their name at age 4/5, as long as they are having fun trying. But today, preschool is looked at differenty and the sad thing is, I will be leaving the field within the next few years (center closing because boss is retiring), and I will never return. It has become a monster and I cannot stand the amount of paperwork and crap we have to do. It takes me away from the job I love - working with kids - and then I have to listen to other people bellyache because they might lose their paper-pushing job. Maybe they should come back and work WITH the children and ensure from first hand experience that they are learning and having fun and are safe. INstead of sitting behind a desk and taking $50,000 a year away from the children and their families in the local centers. Lord only knows how much waste there is all over this province through useless positions and beaurocratic waste. It's disgusting, really.