Social Policy Reflection: Student Loans

My name is Tashi and I am a third year student at Ryerson. I am currently a full time student doing an undergraduate for early childhood studies. I am currently working part time as a sales associate at a retail company within Eaton Centre Mall. I work about 4 shifts a week ranging from 5 hour shifts to 8 hour shifts, which are exhausting and slightly stressful. But I have to work in order to pay for my loans as well as to pay for my basic day-to-day necessities.

After completing my undergraduate in Early Childhood Studies I plan to further my studies and get a teaching degree. After completing my teaching degree, I would like to teach abroad in countries such as Japan, Korea and others before settling down in Canada. I am also taking into consideration to teach in the northern areas of Canada, in particular Nunavut. Due to the shortage of teachers the salaries are higher in Nunavut than teaching salaries within the GTA and also, there are more job availabilities. Due to the higher rates of competition for job positions in the GTA and the lack of teaching experience, it would result in lower rates of job acceptance. I would rather build experiences, where there is less competition to later apply for jobs within the GTA. My plan for the near future is to move out to an apartment near downtown with my sister. My family lives in Scarborough and so the commute is long and often uncomfortable due to rush hour. If I moved out near downtown my commute would be shorter and it would also make it easier for my sister to get to her school as well. In the distant future I do plan to get in a relationship and have children as well. I grew up with 3 other siblings and I had a lot of fun growing up and so I would like to have about 2-3 children. But I do understand the high cost of child rearing and so I am not completely sure on whether I would be able to afford having more than 1 child. Knowing the importance of early child care services I would invest in high-quality program centers, but I would greatly appreciate it if the government aides in giving out free universal child care programs.

Policy is currently affecting my life through student loans. The high cost of getting an education within the post-secondary field is off-putting as it limits so many individuals from ever completing it in the first place. I work part time during the school year as well as the summer time to save up money to pay off my loans. The new policy on free post-secondary for students whose family income is less than 50 thousand a year is mostly targeted towards low income families and helps increase postsecondary education for children in lower income families. Coming from a household of 6, we do not meet the requirements for free post-secondary education but it would be impossible for my family to operate with just 50 thousand a year. Families that earn higher income should also be given similar aide in finances by the government. Especially when there are instances where the family is not paying for their child’s tuition and the child has to pay for themselves. As stated previously, I am planning on going to teach in northern parts of Canada such as Nunavut for a couple of years to gain real work experience in teaching but to also save up money. Teachers are not as abundant in northern areas do to the remoteness and the cold so they earn higher incomes compared to areas such as Toronto. I plan on saving up to pay off my student debt as well as to save up money for housing later on and childcare. My father was an established and experienced veterinarian back in India and has a master’s in health studies but when he immigrated to Canada, he had to find a stable job quickly so that he would be able to immigrate our whole family and have money for our housing fees, education, and basic necessities. Due to the pressure of finding a quick stable job he gave up becoming a veterinarian in Canada and decided to pursue nursing. When we arrived to Canada my father was working part-time as well as finishing his nursing degree. Similarly, my mother was a teacher in India but she did not pursue teaching and became a personal support worker. Due to the constraints of multiple policies such as education, housing and lack of social services my parents were not able to pursue the careers they had initially had but had to settle for careers that were easier to get. Social policies focuses on the wellbeing of individuals through essential services.

When we first came to Canada my parents enrolled my sister and I into a daycare that was located in the basement of our elementary school. Because they had 4 children and were both studying they received subsidies for the daycare program. The daycare program we were placed in was wonderful, it provided us with many experiences that we would have never been able to receive on our own. It taught social skills, creative skills and it also provided my family and I full day and all ride passes to wonderland, Ontario place, marine land and etc. Considering our income as a family at the time these opportunities would not have been possible. The daycare provided breakfast and lunch as well as snacks so my parents did not have to stress in the morning packing all my siblings and I food as well. My experiences in a high quality day care program and the benefits and improvements that I personally noticed from it makes me an advocate for high quality affordable childcare centers. Childcare centers help in gender roles as often times mothers are forced to stay home due to expensive childcare center costs, the childcare can help assist immigrant families who are studying or starting working.

It is also beneficial to the child as good high quality childcare centers allow for the children to be stimulated and develop during early years and it also aides for success in future as workers. The benefits apply also to Kindergarten programs. Kindergarten programs were also used as a means to help assist and incorporate children’s of immigrant families such as myself.

Presently, due to the government's minimal efforts in helping the housing market, education system and the childcare systems it is causing me to move out of the province to another in order to save up money to pay for them in the future. Due to Canada not having a universal childcare system, it promotes privatized market based child care centers. In the 1960’s the results from a national survey on childcare centers, revealed that about 75% if licensed childcare centers ran for-profit centers. When centers are privatized there is no government system periodically reinforcing that the workers are licensed in early childhood studies whereas if child care was universal and was covered by the government it would allow for licensed early childhood educators. This would also increase the wage and encourage more individuals to find careers in child care. I personally remember being told by an early childhood educator in one of my placements to not pursue working in the field as the wage is very low for the amount of work and workplace related stress suffered. The government’s solution to the issues within child care system is targeting individual families and providing them with money rather than solving the main social problem of child care. Rather than using the money for providing more licensed childcare centers and decreasing wait times, aiding to upgrading materials within centers, increasing wage for early childhood educators giving the money to the families still allows for problems such as long wait times to persist. My last placement was located in a lower income neighborhood and so the school I was placed in had operated a before and after school program. This program was open for full days during school holidays and provided lunch and snacks. The program was targeted towards lower income families and their children. This program is an effective and successful program as it helped relieve stress off parents and allow for parents who worked earlier and later than the school hours to have a reliable and high quality child care. The educators within the program had great relationships with the parents as on many occasions I witnessed parents getting advice on personal issues affecting their family from the educators.

In conclusion the before and after school program understands that a child is connected to a family system so the program not only helped alleviate stress of care but also helped relieve and support parental personal stress that could be affecting the child through the family system.