Children are our future, which is why some of us feel called to work with them, to make that future as bright as possible. If that sounds like you, then Early Childhood Education (ECE) might be the future you want. Taking place at either Ashtonbee or Progress Campus, Centennial College’s Early Childhood Education program gives you the skills to teach our youngest people what they need to begin their own journey.
What you’re doing.
As an Early Childhood Educator, you support the learning and development of a child, according to their unique needs. Since little kids have shorter attention spans, preschool works differently than a normal classroom. What this means is that you’re teaching children their earliest life skills through “purposeful play,” in a structured environment. Children are free to play as they want, while they pick up the language, math and social skills you’re teaching.
Where you work.
There are over a thousand licensed childcare centres across Toronto, with early childhood care and education jobs. You could work in them, or you can work in before or after-school programs around all-day kindergarten in Ontario. You could also go into business on your own, and open your own government-regulated childcare facility, either out of your home or in a commercial setting. But that’s not all you can do with your skills, which are highly transferrable. There are also early childhood education employment opportunities with boards of education, or with children and families at drop-in centers, shelters and community service programs. There’s a lot of places you can go.
How Centennial College can help you get there.
An Early Child Educator needs special skills, so you need a special program to teach you. In Centennial College’s Early Childhood Education program, we’ll make you into an expert at giving children and their families the best care, through two of our own lab schools in the form of our East York and Progress Campus Childcare Centres. They are fully functioning childcare centres for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, and are also a hands-on learning environment for Early Childhood Education Students. In fact, by the time the program’s done, you’ll have over 500 hours of field experience.
But even more importantly, you’re ready to work by the time you’re done the program, because you come out with all of the documentation you need to start working right away, including police checks. Not having it often leads to a delay in getting hired, so the program taking care of it will give you a head start. And that’s on top of how you graduate with a whole bunch of skills, including healthy development, health and wellness, curriculum design and advocacy, making you very, very hirable.
So, if you thrive on energy, know how to make learning fun, have a sense of dedication, and of course, enjoy working with kids, then you might be ready to take on this important career, with a bit of help from Centennial College.
Written By: Anthony Geremia