Flexible diploma format helps mature student attain higher pay in her field
Angela Gillis had a very specific reason for going back to school: to make an extra $4 an hour. That’s not insignificant given that she’s already working in the job she wants, only without the necessary paperwork. So, when Durham College (DC) offered a new accelerated Early Childhood Education (ECE)* format to meet the needs of experienced workers already in the field, she went back to school at age 53. “It was the perfect opportunity at the perfect time,” said Gillis.
With a Bachelor’s degree in Children’s Literature and Abnormal Psychology, Gillis already has a job working as an educational assistant at the YMCA in Durham, assisting with morning and after-school in the kindergarten room. But without an ECE diploma, she had been unable to register with the College of Early Childhood Educators, a problem she solved by taking the DC program, which coordinators organized to fit around split shifts with classes from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that allow students to stay in their employment. Gillis was also able to use hours from her career to date for the diploma’s placement requirements, which total 2,700 hours.
While Gillis said that some of the diploma curriculum is already work that she’s been doing in the field, she’s found value in connecting with her fellow ECE students. “I like that a lot of our professors give us time to talk in class, about the industry and how it affects us, for example about policies in Durham Region, and how that will translate over the years in terms of employment,” said Gillis. Connecting with both professors and fellow students has also given her a sense of the environments in other child-centred workplaces, for instance in her case confirming that she prefers the “play-to-learn model” in her current environment over workplaces that are more academically focused. “Sharing with classmates was also really encouraged by the teaching staff, and I will miss the cohort of people I have gone through with,” she said.
While she’s inspired to check out other environments, her time in the classroom has also confirmed for Gillis that she really loves working with children. “I get to play all day long with kids and everyone has to play games I want to play,” she said with a laugh. “Everyone says that handling 15 five-year-olds must be tough, but as long as everyone is playing nicely, it’s not that hard,” she says.
On the flipside, Gillis says being in the classroom again herself as a mature student did come with a few challenges. “Because I’ve been to school before, and my whole life is on technology, I’m comfortable using those tools. But I don’t have an Instagram account, so there are lots of things on campus that I can’t do,” she said, adding that she sees an assumption that everyone has a laptop, which she doesn’t. As a single mom, she also appreciates flexibility to understand that she can’t come to class when her daughter gets sick.
Overall, Gillis said the opportunity that the flexible ECE provided was just what she needed. “This program is really going to change my life—it will for a lot of women in their 30s and 40s, it will open lots of doors.”
* The ECE-E program was a short-term initiative funded by the Region of Durham, that is no longer offered. Explore our full-time Early Childhood Education program.