But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. -1 Chronicles 4:10.
I have been working in a childcare center the biggest part of my life. During that time, I have been responsible for a lot of teachers. These teachers are truly dedicated employees that love children. They do not always have great life goals when they start in the children’s center, they just know that they want to work with children.
Childcare, unlike most fields has a degree that you can actually get on the job. You have to take some classes on line that demonstrates different activities in the classroom, and it helps you the teacher learn how to write lesson plans, and how to re-direct children who are being a little rambunctious. After you have completed the classes, and you have taken a test, an observer will come out and watch your interactions in the classrooms with the children.
Upon passing of the test, and the observation, a degree called a Child Development Associate is given to the teacher, and this enables them to receive a pay increase. For those teachers who are struggling to further their education, this gives them a way to do it, and still be paid during the process.
Encouraging our teachers to achieve a higher education and be able to move up in not only their job, but their way of life is so gratifying to me. I encourage all of them to have dreams and goals in their lives. To just live and not have any aspirations is a sad way to live out your days. Goals and achievements make us feel good and can connect us more with God. I feel God working through me to encourage these ladies to dream big and have visions of their future and there is no limit to the extent they can climb.
I know this because I was that person, a young mom with two little children and no skills. I started child care as a part time teacher in 1983 just to get out of the house, and I worked hard and took classes to better myself, and in 2012 I graduated with a master’s degree for OCU. This would never have been possible if God had not been with me and I had not dared to dream. There were lots of hiccups along the way, but the rewards are so gratifying.
I still have big dreams, and my most recent one came true last fall, and will again this fall. I have been asked to teach a class at OSU/OKC. It was my most recent goal, and it was amazing to get to share what I have learned with new students coming into the childcare field.
What are your dreams? What goals are you working towards accomplishing? God has given us the gift of life, filled with endless opportunities. Keep striving to make your dreams a reality. God will be with you in the journey.
Gabrielle Moon, Executive Director St. Luke’s Children’s Centers
