Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / From Purposeful Play to Personal Growth with Adrienne Anzelmo | Childcare Series

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From Purposeful Play to Personal Growth with Adrienne Anzelmo | Childcare Series · The Inspired Stories Podcast

0:04
Welcome to another edition of Inspired Stories, where leaders
0:07
share their experiences so we can learn from their successes,
0:10
how they've overcome adversity, and explore current challenges
0:13
they're facing. Welcome to another edition of
0:17
the Inspired Stories podcast, where leaders share their
0:20
experiences so we can learn from their successes and be inspired
0:24
by how they've overcome adversity.
0:26
My name is Anthony Codispotti and today's guest is Adrian
0:29
Anzelmo, Co founder and program director of Be Curious
0:33
Children's Learning Center, a child care center in Billerica,
0:37
MA, which is northwest of Boston.
0:40
She first opened her center at the age of 23 with a dream of
0:44
providing high quality child care and preschool to children
0:48
and families in her community. For over 20 years, they have
0:51
grown to be the most established and reputable early childhood
0:55
facility in their city. She has authored a children's
0:57
book called No Matter What, which taps into her own personal
1:01
journey for knowledge and understanding.
1:04
As one of her children, who was born male began identifying as a
1:07
female. Adrian continues to raise
1:10
awareness for parents of children who struggle with
1:12
gender identity and nonconformity.
1:14
Part of their story is shared in a video made by George Takei of
1:18
Star Trek fame. She has two new books on the
1:21
way, which we'll hear more about, and she is also a
1:24
household name on the blog Know Love What Matters, and has been
1:29
featured on numerous other sites including Cafe Mom and Daring
1:32
Women. Now before we get into all that
1:34
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Add Back benefitsagency.com. Now back to our guest today, the
2:07
Co founder and program director of Be Curious Children's
2:10
Learning Center. Adrian, I appreciate you making
2:13
the time to Share your story today.
2:15
Thank you so much for taking the time to have me on today and and
2:19
talk a little bit about the industry of early education.
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It's such an important thing and it's so often overlooked.
2:25
So thank you. Absolutely.
2:27
OK, so we were talking a little bit before we went live here.
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You're born and raised in the Bill Rookie community and went
2:36
away for school and decided to come back.
2:39
What was behind that decision? Yeah.
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So I started in early education during my college years.
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I was a freshman in college and I lost my father to a bout of a
2:51
very short bout of cancer. And so he left us pretty
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suddenly and my mom with three children, my oldest sister being
3:00
a junior in college, myself being a freshman in college, and
3:03
then my younger sister being a sophomore in high school.
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So I decided at that point, if I wanted to stay at the small
3:09
private college I was at, that I should really get a job and not
3:13
ask her for money outside of of college tuition.
3:16
And so I looked around and landed just by chance, a job at
3:21
a local preschool. I was going to school for social
3:25
work. And so I knew I wanted to work
3:26
with children, but I, I didn't anticipate myself in the
3:29
education space. I, I anticipated more working
3:33
with children of high risk in foster care and adoption.
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That was sort of my path at the time.
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And when I got into early education and started spending
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time in this preschool classroom, I absolutely fell in
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love with the industry. And I was so young at the time
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and this was my first experience that I thought all early
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education facilities were run like the one that I was
3:56
currently working at. And so I finished out my college
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degree in social work and at the time also decided to get my
4:03
certification through early, the Department of Early Education
4:07
and Care, which is an EEC certificate to work within the
4:10
industry and sort of pursue both careers until I was more sure of
4:15
what I wanted to do. And as I started some post grad
4:20
work and moved around a little bit, I started to work at some
4:23
other facilities and start to recognize that like, hey,
4:26
actually not all places are created equal.
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Not all all facilities are created equal.
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And that drove my passion to want to open my own facility and
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sort of carry out the idea of really providing a strong
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environment for these kids for age zero to five.
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And so I decided to do that back, you know, closer to where
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I grew up. And my mom, who is my my
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partner, the, you know, my co-owner, we owned the company
4:56
together. She lived, still lived in this
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area where, where, where I was from and where I grew up.
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And so my father and her owned a business previous to his death.
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And so she had all the accounting background and
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ability to to sort of run a business.
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And I had all this passion and, and drive to want to, you know,
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make a difference in the space of early education that we
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decided to partner up and, and go for it.
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So, Adrian, what was it that was different about that first
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center that you worked at that you weren't seeing in those
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subsequent centers? So, you know, first of all, the
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first center I worked at, the owner was the director.
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And so I think that there was a level of investment when the
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person that was directing the center was the owner because
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you, you're only as successful as your business, right?
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And so I initially thought some of these other centers I had
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gone to work at, that wasn't the case.
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And I, I initially thought, OK, well, you know, maybe, maybe
5:57
centers to be successful need to be small and privately owned.
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But as time went on, I started to recognize that that's not the
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case. There are lots of corporate
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centers out there that are successful and do a great job.
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But it really comes down to, you know, is that top tier level of
6:16
administration trained and really eligible to be, you know,
6:20
leaders in the field and what are they doing to really provide
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this rich environment for their students?
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And so I got that experience a lot with that first center and
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and a few centers to follow. But but I just realized that our
6:38
centers over, you know our industries over saturated with
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facilities but not saturated with quality early education.
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So it was more like these were sort of like drop off daycare
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centers where they're just kind of making sure the kid is safe,
6:57
but maybe not moving the needle too much on education.
7:00
Would that be correct observation?
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Very correct. But also it's important to note
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that education for kids zero to 5 doesn't look like the
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education that you would think in an elementary classroom, you
7:11
know, sitting down and to pencil, to paper or asking
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children to even sit for long periods of time at 345 years
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old. It's, it's not, it's not a
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reasonable expectation. So a lot of learning at that age
7:26
happens through purposeful play, but there's a difference between
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purposeful play and then just play.
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And so that's where I think there is a lot of, you know,
7:37
misguidance within the industry because you can walk into an
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early education facility and see kids playing and really learning
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nothing because you're not really giving them a rich
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environment. You're not giving them
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purposeful play experiences. You're not putting them in so
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social situations where you're giving them the opportunity to
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generalize skills. Or you can walk in and see
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children playing and have all of those things in place.
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And I think to an untrained eye that might be not easy to see at
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first sight. What would be an example of
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purposeful play? How would that differ from just
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play? So an example that I like to
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give is if you want to teach a child, you know, one thing that
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a lot of people want to teach a child, say a three-year old is
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about emotions, right? And so you can walk into a
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classroom and you can see lots of things around the classroom,
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like maybe a chart with all different emotions, a happy, you
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know, happy child smiling, a sad child crying, a mad child with
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an angry face. You might see a, a bucket with,
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with emotion flash cards inside. And you think to yourself like,
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this is really great. This center is teaching kids
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about emotions and that's such an important thing that they're
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going to bring to school with them, right?
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It's a such an important tool to put in their toolbox.
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But just because we're pointing to something and saying, OK,
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what is this child? And and the child says back to
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you, that child is happy. And then you point to the next
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child and you say, what's that child?
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And the child says to you, oh, that child's sad.
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You're not really teaching them what happy and sad means.
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They can look at it and tell you and even sometimes at home if
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they see like a sad parent or a sad sibling, they might say
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you're happy or you're sad and think that's great, they're
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learning a new skill. But really what you want to
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teach them is this is what happy looks like.
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But how do we navigate happy? How do we navigate sad?
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You know, you can sit and read a book to a child where they see a
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child being left out on the playground.
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And in this book that you know, the, the one child goes over to
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the sad child and says, do you want to come with us?
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And the, the you know, the sad child says, okay, and they get
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up and they go to they run off and play together.
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And you think, okay, now we're teaching this child that be
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inclusive, include people try to make them less sad.
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But as we know, peers aren't like adults.
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Those relationships aren't predictable.
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So what happens when you run up to appear on the playground and
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you try to generalize that skill and say, do you want to come
10:08
play with me? And the child looks at you and
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says, no, I don't want to come play with you.
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What does that look like? What does that feel like for the
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child that just got rejected? And so giving them these really
10:17
rich play opportunities and social opportunities and really
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like taking time and space to say, like, how did that make you
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feel? What can we do?
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Now that this child said that they don't want to play?
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What is the next best move? Really diving into some of those
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really deeper opportunities is really what's giving children
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the skill set that they need to go off to kindergarten.
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And unfortunately, nowadays, you know, kindergarten has such an
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academic rigor to it that teachers don't often have time
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to teach these social lessons that are are so important in the
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foundation of these children's lives.
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So, Adrian, in that specific example that you mentioned
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there, what would be the next step?
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Like, how would you sort of coach that child who was doing
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the right thing, who was trying to be inclusive and invite, you
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know, this lonely child into their activities and was
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rejected and was turned down? Yeah, I mean, there there's no
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right or wrong way to handle it necessarily.
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And this is what I would say to a teacher of mine.
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I would I would not say like in this situation, this is how you
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have to handle it, right? Because a lot of it is about
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reading the room. If you know that that child by
11:22
asking again that that child will come around, that that's
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their nature of that. You might say to the student
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like, why don't you give them a minute?
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Why don't you do a lap around the playground?
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That was so nice of you. Why don't you do a lap around
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the playground and come back and ask again.
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And it might also give you space and time to say, like, wow, it
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must feel really good that Johnny came over and asked you
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to play. Maybe he'll come back.
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And if he does, I think you should think about it because
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look how much fun he's having. He's climbing the monkey bars.
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Oh, he's also playing with Liam. And you love Liam.
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So that that would be so much fun.
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And then typically when that child comes back, you know, the
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nice thing about kids zero to five is they're a pretty easy
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crowd. You know, for the most part,
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they are pretty easy to redirect.
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They're pretty easy to please. And if that child comes back and
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gets rejected again, it's OK to say, you know what, it sounds
12:09
like he's just not ready to play.
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And that's OK. But you still did the right
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thing. And you should still feel really
12:14
glad and really happy with yourself that you took the time
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to notice that this child is being left out in offer.
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And it's in, you know, that child that's putting themselves
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out there and maybe not getting that feedback.
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It's OK to acknowledge, yeah, you must be really sad that you
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put yourself out there and didn't get back.
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You didn't get anything back. But guess what?
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That's what life is about. How often as adults do we give
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and give and give and we don't get back?
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And so, you know, you can't always do things to to get that
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reward in the end. So I think there's just so many
12:46
valuable lessons tied into just that one scenario.
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And from what we've talked about so far, it seems like perhaps a
12:55
large part of your curriculum is sort of focused on these social
12:59
and emotional development issues.
13:01
Would that be correct? Yeah, so I actually just
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obtained my master's degree this past May, and my whole thesis
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was on social emotional development in children ages 0
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to 5. I think post pandemic
13:14
especially, a lot of kids are really lacking this skill set
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because they spent more time at home.
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Parents were more afraid to leave the house.
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And I think once they got back into the classroom, kids were so
13:26
academically behind at the elementary level that social
13:30
emotional really took a back seat when it needed to really be
13:33
at the forefront even more. And kids that, you know, would
13:37
typically have been in early education for two or three years
13:40
already are now coming in needing so much more from us
13:44
than than, you know, what they would have had had COVID never
13:48
happened. So we've always been really firm
13:50
believers in social emotional growth, but I, I think in the
13:53
last, you know, five years, it has really come to the forefront
13:57
and really allowed us to stop and say like, Hey, this is, this
14:00
is what needs our time. This is what really needs our
14:02
attention. If nothing else, academics are
14:05
important. Academic exposure is absolutely
14:07
wonderful, but your child does not need to know how to write an
14:11
alphabet more than they need to know how to navigate peer
14:13
relationships. Wow, that last sentence was
14:16
pretty powerful. And and I'll, I'll back that up
14:19
from my experiences too. You know, I've had the
14:21
opportunity to interview a number of child care center
14:24
owners across the country. And I hear the same thing over
14:28
and over again coming out of COVID.
14:29
And my wife is a speech therapist for young children in
14:33
a local school district here. And as things are getting back
14:37
to normal after COVID, they were seeing more cases and more
14:42
severe cases than they had ever seen.
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And and not by a little bit, by a lot.
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And she's like, yeah, it was just, you know, the isolation of
14:50
these kids for so long during these really important formative
14:54
years, as well as, you know, kids who would normally have
14:57
been kind of identified in the system as needing a little bit
15:00
of extra help earlier on. You know, they went a couple of
15:03
years without getting that extra help.
15:05
And so things, you know, became sort of worse, exacerbated
15:09
during that time. So I, I think it's great that
15:11
we're, we're, we, but more particularly, you are shining a
15:15
light on all of this right now. Yeah, thank you.
15:19
I absolutely agree with you. And I think that there are not
15:22
all programs are doing that and I and it's important that we
15:26
stop and say you know what is important and what is most
15:30
important in this industry and really make sure that we
15:33
calibrate to that. Yeah, just a quick tangent for a
15:39
second here. For our regular viewers slash
15:42
listeners that may be taking in the video version of this,
15:47
nothing's wrong on your end. We had some technical challenges
15:50
here and so we turned off our videos so that we could make
15:53
sure we had all the bandwidth that we needed for the most
15:56
important part of this, which is the audio.
15:58
So lots of great content here already and we're going to get
16:03
into some even more interesting stuff.
16:05
So it's, it's great that we were able to to get the audio here
16:10
figured out so that we can focus on the great content.
16:13
So, Adrian, tell me a little bit more about what a typical day
16:18
would look like for one of your students.
16:22
So every classroom's a little bit different.
16:24
We, we serve children ages zero to five.
16:27
And so for our zero to 12 to 15 months kids, those are
16:32
considered our infants. The state mandate is our this
16:36
excuse me, the state mandates our age groups.
16:39
So we don't have much say in how we develop the age groups for
16:45
each classroom. So zero to 15 months is
16:50
considered an infant and infants run on their own schedule.
16:53
So every day really looks different for every infant.
16:57
It's around 12 months when we start to consider their
17:00
transition to the Todd the room, the Todd the program, which goes
17:02
from 15 months to two years, nine months that we start to try
17:06
to move towards a more structured class schedule.
17:10
And then Toddlers, which starts at 15 months all the way up to
17:13
age 5 is a more structured classroom schedule.
17:16
Now with that being said, obviously our kids in a toddler
17:19
classroom are not going to be held to the type of schedule
17:24
that are say pre-K, which is our year before kindergarten kids
17:27
are held to. The reason that we create class
17:30
schedules is number 1, so we all have an opportunity to get on
17:34
the playground and two, really so kids understand
17:38
predictability. And for our older classrooms,
17:41
our preschool and pre-K kids, they can hold some
17:43
accountability to their daily routine.
17:45
So when they come in, they know that they're supposed to unpack
17:48
their backpack, pull out their snacks.
17:50
They have a routine they follow that helps them not only learn
17:53
self help skills, but also it gives them some accountability
17:58
to themselves into their classroom.
18:00
They might have a classroom job they need to do or check
18:02
themselves in. You know, just depending on what
18:04
the classroom routines are in that specific classroom.
18:07
In all of our classrooms, including our infant classrooms,
18:10
we touch on curriculum areas every day.
18:13
So every day the kids are going to be exposed to many, not just
18:17
play opportunities, but like I had said, some pre academic and
18:21
academic opportunities. A lot of this is very open-ended
18:24
and play based. You know, every day they do a
18:27
science and sensory activity. What does this look like in a
18:29
toddler classroom? You think science, you might
18:32
think, you know, they're not doing biology, but we might have
18:36
sensory buckets out full of of, you know, kinetic sand with
18:40
little dinosaur bones hidden inside.
18:42
If the kids are learning about dinosaurs and they have to go
18:44
through and pull out the dinosaur bones.
18:46
And then for our older toddlers and young preschoolers, they
18:49
might pull those dinosaur bones out and then do accounting
18:52
activity with them. So we can extend that into a
18:55
math or manipulative activity. For some kids, we might in the
19:00
older classrooms, we might have the bones might be a bit smaller
19:02
and they might use a set of tweezers to pull them out.
19:05
So we're working on the pincer grip and that fine motor skill.
19:07
So when they get to writing, they have sort of the skills
19:11
that they need and the small muscle control.
19:14
And when they get to pre-K, they might pulling be pulling those
19:16
bones out. And if they're really, you know,
19:18
if they're a group that's ready for it, they might be naming
19:21
some of the bones. You know, what part of the
19:23
dinosaur does this come to? They might be going and matching
19:26
it up to an actual picture of a dinosaur and seeing where it
19:29
matches. So they can use their cognitive
19:31
and cognitive skills and critical thinking.
19:34
And so they've got this opportunity every day for math
19:38
and manipulative science and sensory art, fine motor, gross
19:41
motor. And then again, that very, very,
19:44
very important free play part of the day.
19:47
But what you're describing here, Adrian, sounds like a fantastic
19:51
approach to early childhood education.
19:53
Is there a way in your mind to sort of move the overall
19:57
industry towards more of this model?
20:03
Well, you know, I, I say all the time when I meet owners and I
20:08
meet directors who sort of share in this passion, I just tell
20:12
them that we just have to keep fighting the good fight and
20:15
keep, you know, letting our mission be known.
20:17
And we work with a lot of, you know, outside agencies that go
20:21
into different centers. And I, I'm constantly educating
20:25
them on how important it is that when they're in these centers
20:28
that don't have this high quality education that they say
20:30
something, you know, like early intervention, for example.
20:34
These early intervention is an agency that works with kids with
20:37
developmental delays age 0 to 3. And so they go across all, you
20:43
know, they go across all centers across the state and they'll
20:47
come into our program and say, well, this program is, is
20:49
wonderful. But I was at a program yesterday
20:51
and I said, well, if you were at a program yesterday and it
20:54
didn't meet your expectations, it's important that it's
20:56
important that you speak up because those kids deserve this
21:00
opportunity as much as the ones that are here today and, you
21:03
know, with me. And so we just keep, you know,
21:07
really, you know, letting our mission be known and really
21:12
screaming from the rooftops, you know, even through get a state
21:16
level and you know, when my licensor comes in, when our
21:19
state licensor comes in, we, you know, we just keep letting that
21:24
mission be known and how important it is that we really
21:27
still all start moving in the same direction.
21:29
I think another really, really important aspect that can move
21:33
us in that direction. And again, nothing within my
21:35
control, but something that I often talk about is the right
21:41
now to be a director in an early education facility is only about
21:46
20 college credits. You only need 20 college
21:49
credits. And so it's I think of myself
21:55
from when I was 23, and I think of how prepared I truly was.
22:04
They actually owned a business and how educated dialectically
22:12
was. Hey, Adrian, I think we've got a
22:28
little bit of a connection issue.
22:29
You're your audio's dropping out there.
22:39
Yeah, in this moment I'm not able to.
22:40
Hear an amazing. Adrian, are you able to hear me?
23:08
Can you hear me? I can hear you now.
23:10
I didn't catch the, the, the entirety of your previous answer
23:15
that was cutting out. So we'll, we'll edit the the,
23:21
the missteps. They're out.
23:23
OK. And and maybe we'll just shift
23:25
gears to a a new topic. OK.
23:28
And unless you unless you had more that you wanted to say on
23:30
that. I don't remember now.
23:34
Fair enough. Maybe maybe let's talk about
23:40
your second child and tell me about when you first became
23:44
aware that they were having questions about their gender
23:46
identity and what that was like for you and the and the whole
23:49
family. Yes, so she was actually about
23:57
old. Hey, Adrian, I'm sorry.
24:03
I'm going to, I'm going to cut you off.
24:04
We're we're losing your audio again, I'm not sure what's going
24:07
on. Old enough to speak.
24:11
OK, can you? I'm going to go reset my router.
24:12
Can you give me two minutes? Yep, no problem.
26:36
OK, can you hear me? I can.
26:39
Did you actually reset the router?
26:40
Because I I figured we would lose Internet connection if you
26:42
did that. I did I reset the router.
26:45
OK, All right, well, let's try that question again.
26:48
Let's see how the audio goes this time.
26:50
OK, so. Yeah, let, yeah, let let me
26:54
introduce with the with the question again.
26:56
So we've got sort of a, a clean place to start the edit.
26:59
So Adrian, I want to shift gears for a moment and let's talk
27:03
about your second child and when you first became aware that they
27:07
were having questions about their janitor identity and what
27:10
that was like for you, for them and for the whole family.
27:16
Yes. So when my second child was
27:19
born, she began identifying as female as young as 18 months,
27:25
believe it or not, as soon as she was old enough to talk.
27:29
Yeah, as soon as she was old enough to talk, she would tell
27:32
us that she was a girl and we would correct her over and over
27:37
again. And she would go to school,
27:40
maybe she went to my early education facility and she would
27:44
dress up in all of the dresses and, and fancy bows and, and
27:49
dress shoes. And she just couldn't wait to
27:51
get to school because she had an older brother.
27:53
So it's not like we had a lot of, you know, girly toys here.
27:57
Not that there are girl boys and girl toys and boy toys
28:00
necessarily, but a lot of the things that she enjoyed playing
28:03
with a lot of the Princess things, sparkly things, we
28:05
didn't own a lot of those things at the time.
28:07
And so when she got to school she was all about that.
28:10
And when she was around 3 1/2 she started to start to get
28:17
angry when she would tell us that she was a girl and we would
28:20
tell her she wasn't. And around 4 was when she
28:24
started to self harm and have some self loathing.
28:31
You know, I, I don't want to be alive anymore if I can't just be
28:35
a girl like all the other girls. And so that's when we decided to
28:40
seek some professional help and we called Children's Hospital.
28:43
They have a whole gender unit over at Boston Children's
28:48
Hospital. And we scheduled an appointment.
28:50
And around age 5, we went to this appointment and the doctor
28:55
was absolutely wonderful and really sort of unpacked
28:58
everything that Maddie was feeling and everything that we
29:01
were feeling and was able to lay it out for us in a way that
29:06
really made more sense. Because I was always about
29:09
supporting my child, but also wanted to make sure that as
29:14
their as her parent, that I was also being the right type of
29:17
compass for her. And we decided after that
29:22
appointment when we started seeing the statistics for how
29:24
often kids that you know, do have gender dysphoria and are
29:28
not validated and are not shown unconditional love, how often
29:32
they turn to self harming and suicide and things like that.
29:36
And we just made the decision that the only thing at the time
29:39
we're changing right now is her name and pronouns to give her
29:43
this validation. We need to do that.
29:45
And so we did. And I can say, and so we did
29:48
like it was easy. It it wasn't, you know, there
29:51
was a lot, there was a lot around that a lot of we needed
29:57
to come to a sense of acceptance and we needed to really look
30:00
deep in in into ourselves. And neither of us really had
30:03
anything against people that were transgender.
30:05
We really just had never even had never been on our radar.
30:09
But we were met with a lot of judgement and a lot of hate and
30:13
really had to come together as a family and and be strong.
30:16
Even when we weren't, we had to pretend we were.
30:19
And even when people would question and us and we were
30:21
almost at sometimes questioning ourselves, we just knew that
30:24
this was the right path for her and that we needed to love and
30:28
support her at all costs. And it, it has gotten much
30:32
easier. And you know, she's been so
30:35
strong and so sure of herself that it has made everything
30:42
easier for us. And she went from being an A
30:46
really angry, confused child to being happy, well adjusted and
30:56
and, you know, you, you can't put a price tag on that.
30:58
You know, most people say that must have been really hard.
31:01
I'm not sure I can do it. And I, I said if you love, if
31:03
you love your child, you could absolutely do it.
31:06
You, you know, yeah. And So what?
31:09
How old is she now? She's 13. 13 so you were going
31:14
through all of this 8-9 years ago and this is when, correct me
31:21
if I'm wrong, but you know, awareness of transgender was
31:27
really, I wouldn't even say in its infancy.
31:29
It was probably something that a lot of people weren't even
31:31
familiar with, they hadn't heard about.
31:33
I think, you know, for a lot of people, sort of the the
31:36
realization that this was, you know, even a thing was probably
31:41
Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner. Am I remembering that correctly?
31:45
Yes, I would say we were, we were sort of a little bit ahead
31:49
of the, the curb from, you know, from a media standpoint, right.
31:54
This is something that existed long before my daughter and will
31:57
exist for many years to come. But I, I do think that there was
32:00
a more of a media awareness and more discussions happening when,
32:06
when the whole Jenner, Caitlyn Jenner had had come out.
32:09
And also too, I think I am Jazz, which is a, a pretty popular
32:14
program that was on TLC had come out and, and kind of sparked a
32:18
lot of interest in the world. But I, I could tell Maddie, I
32:23
tell her all the time, you know, I'm a pioneer in what I do and
32:25
she's a pioneer in what she does.
32:27
And so there's nothing wrong with that.
32:29
She's she's a great kid and she's had to grow up quicker
32:34
than most kids should have to, but she's handled it with with
32:37
grace and and I could not be more proud to be her mom.
32:40
You made the point, Adrian, that this has become a lot easier.
32:44
And I'm wondering if it's become easier because the public is
32:48
more aware and more accepting or if that's not the case and it's
32:53
just gotten easier because kind of within your, your family
32:56
unit, you are more equipped and more, I don't know, kind of
33:05
settled into what this new dynamic is like.
33:09
Yeah, I think, I think really this is this, it's a, it's a
33:13
more of a personal growth. I've never had to, I've never
33:18
had to be so sure of anything. And so even when I wasn't sure,
33:24
I had to be sure because I, we had to really be a unified
33:28
strong front because we knew we would get a lot of, of backlash
33:32
and a lot of people asking a lot of questions.
33:34
And sometimes when people ask questions and they come off as
33:36
mean, they're not meant to be that way.
33:39
Sometimes they're just ignorant to the way that they're asking a
33:42
question or, or why they're asking a question.
33:45
You know, even Maddie's friends at school when they found out
33:48
she was transgender, one said, one child said, well, does that
33:52
mean that you have a penis? And, and Maddie, you know, very
33:56
strong and very, very well equipped said, well, I, I don't
34:01
really talk about what's in my pants and you probably shouldn't
34:04
talk about what's in yours either.
34:06
And, and that really ended the conversation very quickly
34:09
because, because really that's true.
34:11
We don't meet each other and, and talk about that.
34:14
And so, you know, she's able to really normalize the way that
34:20
she lives and she's her own person.
34:23
Now at 13, I can have a conversation with her and she
34:27
can really help me identify sometimes things that I'm
34:31
feeling or uncertainties I'm feeling around certain
34:33
situations. And she's so sure and articulate
34:37
that it really helps me be sure and articulate as well.
34:41
So yeah, it's it's it's really growing in these convictions.
34:48
And now I look back at pre transition and I think to
34:51
myself, what took me so long? And I know she was only 5, but
34:55
she told me for a solid four years.
34:57
And for four years I never told her.
35:01
I never made her feel bad. But for a long time I, I
35:03
corrected her because I thought that's what I was supposed to
35:06
do. And so I cut her hair short
35:08
because I wanted to remind her that she was a boy.
35:11
And I did all these things trying to be the best mom that I
35:14
could be. And I look back now and I know
35:16
pictures are hurtful. You know, it hurts for her to
35:18
look at those. If I had just let her keep her
35:20
long hair that it would, that would have been easy, easier for
35:22
her. But I didn't know.
35:24
I didn't know so. Yeah, And I I think that's the
35:27
important thing is, you know, you didn't have a frame of
35:29
reference. It wasn't something that you had
35:31
come across. It wasn't something that you
35:33
dealt with before. You didn't, you probably didn't
35:36
grow up knowing anybody who was transgender.
35:39
And, you know, you didn't, you just didn't have a mental model.
35:42
And I, and I think that's probably where, you know, a lot
35:44
of people still are today. You know, we tend to fear or
35:49
judge or dismiss or, you know, cast down upon things that we
35:54
don't understand. And you made an interesting
35:57
point, Adrian, that, you know, a lot of times when people are
36:00
asking questions that come across as mean or hurtful,
36:03
they're, they're not intending to be that way.
36:07
They just, they have a lack of familiarity, they have a lack of
36:10
experience. And perhaps they are genuinely
36:13
curious in trying to better understand something that is
36:17
completely new and foreign to them.
36:19
What for, for people listening who are sort of in that boat
36:24
that are like, hey, I'm, I'm trying to wrap my head around
36:26
this, like what, what would be the OK questions?
36:29
What would be the acceptable questions for them to ask?
36:33
You know, I think really, honestly, any question is OK to
36:37
ask. I think a lot of times it's how
36:39
we deliver questions. You know, it's, it's funny
36:44
because IA friend of mine said, you know, there's this, there's
36:48
this person at church and I'm afraid to talk because I don't
36:54
know what pronouns to use. And I said, OK, so we're just
36:57
not, we're just not going to talk to them because we don't
37:00
know. Why don't you ask them what
37:02
pronouns to use? And she said, is that OK to do?
37:06
And I said, well, I don't know. I don't know if this person will
37:09
be offended by this. But we don't know unless we try.
37:13
And I feel like rather than social isolation, that this,
37:17
this individual would want to be asked, would feel respected for
37:22
being asked. And, and again, maybe that maybe
37:24
that's not the feedback that that she would get if she asked.
37:27
But much like that little child on the playground who might not
37:31
get that child to get up and go play, I think it's important
37:33
that we take these social risks. And that shows a lot about who
37:37
we are as people when we're able to say like, hey, listen, I
37:41
don't mean to offend you, but I, I want to have a conversation
37:44
with you. And I want this to be a
37:45
respectful conversation. So do you have a preferred
37:47
pronoun that I should use? And I think that that's a really
37:50
OK and acceptable question. But I think it's really the way
37:54
that it's being asked is really an important aspect.
37:57
And if you went to a good preschool and you have good
37:59
social skills, then you'll probably know how to do that.
38:02
See. See that full circle?
38:05
I like how you tied that in. Well done.
38:09
You know, Adrian, there, there's a point in my interviews where I
38:12
always like to ask a question about a particular challenge
38:14
that people have overcome, whether it's a business or
38:17
personal. I feel like maybe we're touching
38:21
upon what's probably been one of your biggest challenges to
38:25
overcome. But I, I, I don't want to make
38:27
that assumption and I want to open the mic if you want to give
38:29
voice to something else. Yeah.
38:32
So actually I thought a lot about, we had talked about that
38:36
we were, you know, we were going to dive into this and it's I'm
38:41
torn between professional me and personal me here.
38:45
You know, professionally. There was a point that I
38:49
remember in business that I really had to lean into growth,
38:52
which is very important to do, which we can touch on after if
38:55
you want. But I will stay on this line of
38:57
questioning personally, because personally, owning a business
39:01
and raising a family, especially a family with young children,
39:06
especially a family with young children who have diverse needs
39:11
has been really so very challenging.
39:16
And I don't think people understand truly, when you're a
39:20
small business owner, the capacity in which your brain is
39:23
constantly working, your body is constantly working.
39:27
You know, there are no days off. There are no days off.
39:31
When I had my kids, I took a two week maternity leave with all
39:34
three of them and two weeks just isn't enough.
39:37
And I was still tied to my e-mail and tied to touching base
39:42
with them everyday. And I have Maddie, who we spoke
39:47
about, but I also, my youngest child also has an autism
39:50
diagnosis with a communication delay.
39:52
And so we're raising him and making sure that he has
39:56
everything he needs and he has all of the supports in place to
39:59
live a happy, successful life and finding a balance of, you
40:04
know, having a husband and being part of a partnership with
40:08
someone who I'm raising kids with and run a business.
40:11
This business has become. A family entity, you know, we've
40:16
had vacations cut short because of my business.
40:19
We've had days off that were supposed to be days off that
40:23
turned into not days off. A perfect example is my daughter
40:27
and I were walking in to get pedicures one day.
40:30
It was a date day for the two of us just a few months ago.
40:33
And I got a call from my mom who was covering the school and
40:36
said, so our state license is here for a surprise visit.
40:39
And we went from pedicure chairs to the school in about 10
40:43
minutes. And so she said, what about our
40:45
pedicures? And I said, they're going to
40:47
have to wait. And so my kids and husband have
40:49
had to learn it's going to have to wait a lot from from me over
40:52
the years. And they've had to be part of
40:55
this business too. My husband has been an integral
40:58
part of of the, the grounds in the facility.
41:02
And like I said, my mom has has sacrificed endlessly for, for
41:07
this business. And I have two sisters that I
41:10
had mentioned previously who 1, is a special teacher in special
41:14
education and she's been my education consultant for many
41:18
years. And my other younger sister is a
41:21
nurse. So she's been my healthcare
41:22
consultant. And both are called upon very
41:25
regularly to be part of, of what we do.
41:27
And so, you know, there's just been an endless amount of
41:32
sacrifice from, from every member of my, my small and big
41:36
family. And finding that balance has
41:40
been, has been difficult, rewarding, worth it.
41:44
Absolutely. I would do it again 100 times
41:47
over. But it's business ownership is
41:51
not for the faint of heart, I will say that.
41:54
Yeah, I think you hit on something really good here,
41:55
Adrian. For those people who, you know,
41:58
they, they've got a, a nine to five type of job.
42:01
It's not that, you know, those folks go home and they never
42:04
think about their work. But I think the degree to which
42:08
small business owners are often fully consumed by their business
42:14
24/7. Whether it's, you know, needing
42:17
to get up and leave a pedicure to go in for a surprise
42:19
inspection, or just having your mind constantly be working on
42:25
all of the issues that need to be solved.
42:27
You know, in the background, you know, right, I've got a, a water
42:31
pipe that needs to be fixed. I've got payroll to meet.
42:35
I've got this, you know, these two employees not getting along.
42:39
I've got an upset parent. And how am I going to deal with
42:42
that? Like it's, it's hard and
42:45
sometimes it's, it feels downright impossible to just to
42:48
turn those things off and be fully focused on the present
42:50
moment. So as you look back on you know
42:54
how you've done this over the past several years, you said you
42:57
would do it again in a heartbeat.
42:59
Is there anything you think you would do differently?
43:03
Yes, I will say, and I think I touched upon this a little bit
43:06
earlier, I didn't get my master's degree until this past
43:11
year. And so I did do some graduate
43:14
level work in social work back when I got my undergrad degree,
43:18
but, and I did get my certification in early
43:20
education, but I never went and got an advanced degree because
43:24
it was not required of me. And I think I had started to
43:28
touch upon, you know, when we say like, you know, what has,
43:32
what has been the hardest for you or, or what, you know, what
43:34
if, what challenges have you faced professionally?
43:39
You know, COVID really, really put things in perspective for me
43:43
professionally. It, it required us, we, you
43:47
know, we were in a mandatory shutdown for about 5 months.
43:50
And when we were able to reopen, we had to reopen really under
43:54
new guidelines in a new structure via, you know, the
43:58
state of Massachusetts and what they were, were expecting of us.
44:01
And we were about 16 years into the business at this point.
44:05
And we had a pretty successful business model.
44:07
But it really gave us a chance. And by us, I mean my, my mom,
44:13
myself and my two sisters, we started having business meetings
44:17
and it gave us a chance to really look at what we're doing.
44:21
And my older sister, who is just full of wisdom, constantly said,
44:24
you know, Adrian, you, you've been doing what works for so
44:28
long. And so you don't fix what's not
44:31
broken. But this is an opportunity for
44:33
you to really look at your business model and really lean
44:37
into the things that don't work and admit them to yourself,
44:40
admit your shortcomings and, and, and lean into that and grow
44:45
with it. And growth is really
44:46
uncomfortable and it's going to, it's going to really stink to
44:49
sit in this for a little while. But this is an opportunity for
44:53
change and growth. And, and you should and you
44:55
should take it. And I had soon after that seen a
45:00
quote from my Angela that said, do your best.
45:04
And once you know better, you need to do better.
45:06
And so that's sort of what COVID was for me.
45:09
It was a chance for me to look at my entire business model, top
45:12
to bottom. And one thing I really
45:14
recognized in myself is that maybe I wasn't the most
45:19
effective leader. Maybe I wasn't, you know, maybe
45:22
I wasn't up to par on the most current teaching practices.
45:27
And, and just because I wasn't required to be, doesn't mean I
45:30
shouldn't be. And I'll never, ever take the 16
45:33
years back prior to COVID, because I do feel like we gave a
45:36
really great high quality education to all the kids that
45:39
came before COVID. But I do look at things a little
45:42
differently now. And, and, and that's OK, But,
45:46
but if I had, you know, my younger self in front of me, I
45:49
think that's one of the biggest things I would tell her is keep
45:52
growing. Don't ever stop growing and, and
45:54
lean into that discomfort of saying like, you know, don't be
45:57
so defensive. Don't be so quick to say like,
45:59
yeah, but but we're successful. Who cares if you're successful?
46:02
Are you doing the best job that you can possibly do?
46:05
And and that's sort of, I think what sets some leaders apart
46:08
from others. And so I just decided I, I want
46:11
to be, you know, this is what I want to do.
46:13
This is I want to keep giving the best possible product and
46:18
the best possible opportunities, not only for these kids, but for
46:21
employees, for families, for everyone across the board.
46:25
I appreciate that we were able to loop back into that idea of
46:28
leaning into growth. I, I know you'd mentioned that a
46:30
few minutes ago and wanting to come back to that.
46:32
So it was great that we sort of naturally came back to it.
46:35
And this is something that I know as a father of two young
46:38
boys that sometimes I struggle to find a way to teach them.
46:43
You know, for example, my oldest boy is he's got some athletic
46:47
skill. And so, you know, I'll hear him
46:49
say things like, well, Dad, I'm already super good at soccer.
46:53
And it's like, you know, I don't want to tell him that, you know,
46:56
he's not. I, I, you know, I appreciate
46:58
that confidence. It's like, yeah, like you're,
47:00
you're doing a great job with soccer and there's always the
47:04
opportunity to improve. And that's where I feel like my
47:08
approach is maybe falling on mostly deaf ears.
47:12
I don't know if you have any advice for me as a father in
47:16
terms of like, you know, I I don't 100%.
47:19
I don't want to make him feel bad about where his skill level
47:22
is, whether it's in a sport or, you know, a particular subject
47:25
in school or just, you know, sort of making friends or, or
47:29
whatever it is. But I, yeah, I always want him
47:34
to be looking for ways to improve, how to level up, you
47:37
know, am IA little bit better, faster, stronger, wiser than I
47:41
was yesterday kind of a thing. And any any thoughts and advice
47:45
on that? Yeah, I think really it's about
47:48
providing these kids with opportunities to both succeed
47:52
and to fail. And when I say fail, obviously
47:55
you don't want him to. You don't want to put him on an
47:57
elite team where he's going to be completely out of place and
48:00
say, see, I son, I taught you how to fail.
48:03
It's not not like that. But.
48:05
But, you know, maybe he is really good at soccer and maybe
48:08
soccer comes naturally and maybe it's going to be years and years
48:11
before he, you know, is challenged in that particular
48:16
area of his life. But putting him in other
48:19
opportunities where he might not be as strong and allow him to
48:22
sort of sit in that. Oh, I'm not as, you know, I'm
48:26
not as good at, you know, at guitar.
48:30
You know, you have them in guitar lessons.
48:31
I'm not as good at at music as I am at soccer.
48:35
You're right. You're not.
48:36
But that doesn't mean that we should give up on guitar and it
48:38
doesn't mean that we should not, you know, try new things or try
48:43
things that maybe don't come as naturally to you.
48:45
And I think just giving them again, these opportunities to be
48:49
successful and then maybe these opportunities to not be as
48:52
successful and to be OK with that.
48:55
And to to sort of recognize some of the my sister, my my OSA
48:59
wisdom is sister said to me, ultimately your job, right?
49:04
And this, this is as an early educator, but, but you could
49:07
really apply this to parenting to your job.
49:10
Your first and foremost job is, is that every child with them
49:13
carries around an empty toolbox. And what our job is, is to put
49:18
as many tools in that toolbox as possible.
49:21
And these aren't tools that they might use today or tomorrow, but
49:24
you know that we're for even five years.
49:26
But if you give them the opportunity and put that tool in
49:29
their toolbox and teach them things like empathy and
49:31
compassion, and you know, someday they'll have that tool
49:36
to pull out and say like, Hey, listen, I, I need to call upon
49:40
this. I need to, you know, I need to
49:41
be, I need to call upon positive self talk, You know, I need to
49:45
call upon these skills that I might have learned in preschool
49:48
that I haven't needed to use, but I need to use now.
49:50
And, and, and we've done that by giving them the tools to do
49:55
that. And so, so that's what I, you
49:57
know, that that's what the best advice I can give you is to put
50:01
him in, in situations where he's, he's got opportunities to
50:06
succeed, opportunities to fail, and a lot of language around how
50:09
to navigate those feelings. Yeah, it's one of the thing.
50:13
And he and he has had been in those opportunities where he's
50:17
he's really struggled, where he accidentally got put into the
50:20
wrong league, where he's playing with kids who were, you know, a
50:22
foot and a half taller than he was.
50:24
And, you know, really struggling and, you know, trying to explain
50:29
to him that, you know, these are opportunities for growth, that
50:34
that's a speech that's probably lost on a lot of adults.
50:36
You know who are I? Was just going to say that yes,
50:39
I was just going to say that yes.
50:41
Trying to explain it to a 10 year old is, you know, even more
50:44
difficult when he's got, you know, tears coming down his face
50:46
because his team just got hammered for, you know, the the
50:49
12th time. But it, I, I think with a lot,
50:53
as, with a lot of things, repetition, it is probably
50:57
really important. You know, I, I'm sure that there
50:59
were a lot of things that my dad, you know, said to me when I
51:02
was younger that I rolled my eyes at or dismissed that, you
51:05
know, after I heard it for the 1500 time, you know, and I'm
51:09
getting a little bit older, like it finally started to sink in.
51:12
And so that's, that's the approach I'm going to try to
51:14
take is even if he's rolling his eyes and moaning and groaning
51:17
every time I repeat some same things, I'm just going to keep
51:21
doing it and hope that it it eventually filters through.
51:24
Exactly. Keep doing it and and you know,
51:27
I think and don't quote me on this, but I think you have to
51:31
introduce a skill something like 27 times before you'll even
51:35
consider using it. And so just think about that.
51:38
You know, he needs to hear it and see it so many times in
51:41
order for him to have that skill available to him.
51:44
And so and, and a lot of times too, you know, coming off the
51:48
soccer field and he's frustrated and he's and he's at an elevated
51:51
high. His nervous system isn't ready
51:52
to hear you say, good try, bud. You know, but in in an hour or
51:57
two after he's, you know, gotten home and taken a shower and sort
52:01
of cooled off and he and he's, you know, just plopped down on
52:04
the couch to, you know, watch a program on TV.
52:06
That's when you turn to him and say, you know what, today that
52:09
must have been a really tough loss.
52:10
But I want to tell you, you did something during this game that
52:12
made me proud. You didn't give up.
52:14
And, and you know, I think that's so important and, and
52:17
point out a few of the things that he did during that time
52:20
that made you proud and, and let him see that even though overall
52:24
it was a loss, it it wasn't a loss.
52:26
It was an opportunity for growth.
52:28
And, and that's where, you know, that's where he's going to learn
52:32
and and sort of take that skill with him, but he's going to have
52:35
to hear it a whole lot, a whole lot.
52:38
That's really good advice. Yeah.
52:40
Thanks for that, Adrian. I want to shift gears now and I
52:42
want to hear about your books. We mentioned one in the intro,
52:46
no matter what. Maybe talk a little bit about
52:49
what first inspired you to write a book at all.
52:54
And then maybe let's give voice to a couple of the new books
52:58
that are out now. Sure.
53:00
So, you know, this goes back to something you were saying
53:04
earlier about when Maddie first transitioned.
53:09
We, we didn't have, we didn't really have a direction.
53:12
You know, when our son got a diagnosis of autism, it actually
53:17
was a bit easier than things were with Maddie, believe it or
53:20
not. And and that's because, you
53:23
know, autism spectrum disorder, it, it's got a lot of visibility
53:26
and there's a very clear path. If you have a child that is
53:28
diagnosed with autism, these are the steps that you take to get
53:31
him help. And so it was a really clear
53:33
path. These are the agencies you call,
53:35
these are the the services they provide.
53:37
This is, you know, this is where he'll get the skill set that he
53:41
needs to to function and be, you know, well-rounded.
53:44
And so that was great with Maddie.
53:46
It's, you know, we're still figuring this out.
53:49
There is no protocol. There is no, you know, this is
53:54
how things are done in all of our research.
53:56
This is what we found works best because we are the research.
53:59
And so I felt really lost and alone for a couple of years.
54:04
And for that reason, I decided with Maddie's permission that we
54:08
would tell her story through a storybook.
54:11
And, and it was really to, for written for families who find
54:16
themselves in the position that we were in when Maddie was, you
54:19
know, a young. And, and so we self published
54:23
and printed off as many copies as we could.
54:27
And we actually donated them to local pediatrician's office, to
54:30
the gender unit at Children's Hospital.
54:33
And that's where all of our proceeds have gone.
54:35
They've gone right back into the project and, and into raising
54:39
awareness and providing support to families with children who
54:44
are struggling with their gender.
54:47
And so that's, that's where the first book came from.
54:49
And now in in quite a few of the blogs that I've written.
54:52
And again, it was to tell our story so that it would be an
54:55
easier path for other families. And Maddie has since done some
55:00
interviews and, and she's done a few school trainings with, with
55:04
teachers on how to, how to, you know, represent the community
55:08
and how to be sensitive in schools.
55:10
And, and she's done a lot of really great advocacy work.
55:13
And, and I hope as she gets older, she continues to do that.
55:15
But this is her path to figure out.
55:17
But that's ultimately what inspired our our first book.
55:22
So I had since written, I've since written two other
55:25
children's books. They aren't out yet. 1 is in
55:28
with Illustrator now and it is called The Curious Adventures of
55:35
Missus Beasley, and it is about a preschool teacher and her 30
55:39
years as a preschool teacher and the impact that that had on her
55:43
students. And again, this was written
55:47
really about raising awareness to early education and how
55:51
important these years are and what an impact they can have on
55:54
kids when they're provided with a strong early education
55:58
environment. And then our other children's
56:02
book, which will come out after that.
56:04
I'm hoping The Curious Adventures of Mrs. Beasley will
56:07
be out by the end of 2024. And shortly after, in 2025 is
56:13
the book I wrote called Brendans Box.
56:15
And it's about a little boy who is a neurodivergent, meaning
56:20
that, you know, it doesn't talk about whether he has a diagnosis
56:23
of any kind, but he's a, a kid that's a little bit different
56:26
than all the other kids. And, and him trying to sort of
56:29
find his way and where he fits because he doesn't follow the
56:33
typical model of what's expected of kids.
56:36
He, he, you know, he tries to play baseball and, and, and he
56:39
doesn't like it and, and he tries out dance class and, and
56:42
he doesn't like it. And, and he said, you know, what
56:45
box do I fit in? I don't seem to fit into the box
56:47
of any of these other children. And what does that mean for me?
56:49
And it's sort of his journey to finding himself and really
56:54
bringing awareness and acceptance to kids who are
56:57
neurodivergent and allowing space for them.
57:01
And will these two books also be self published?
57:04
They will be self published through Amazon Publishing and
57:08
both have different illustrators so each book will look a little
57:12
bit different. My original book, No Matter What
57:14
was illustrated by a good friend of mine, Jessica Charpentier,
57:18
who was actually a teacher for many years at Be Curious and she
57:23
was able to actually travel Maddie's journey with her as one
57:25
of her preschool teachers. So it was important to me that
57:28
she illustrate that book. It was a great project.
57:30
I loved working with her on the Brendan's Box is being
57:35
illustrated by a friend of mine who's also a family nurse
57:39
practitioner and in works very closely with a lot of children
57:43
who are neurodivergent. So I think this is a passion
57:46
project for her and I'm excited for her to, you know, to to roll
57:50
out her talents through illustration.
57:52
And then I have I have a separate illustrator out of
57:57
India who is doing my curious adventures of Missus Beasley,
58:01
who is just about finished up. So I'm really excited to see,
58:05
you know, what that looks like for us in the coming months.
58:09
So for anybody who might be interested in getting their
58:12
hands on a copy of either the first book or to be notified
58:17
when and where they can get their hands on the second and
58:19
third book, what would be the best way for that to happen?
58:23
Sure. I have a a Facebook page where I
58:25
always make public posts about anything that's happening in my
58:30
author's world. You can always purchase no
58:32
matter what on Amazon.com. And both of the new books, when
58:37
they come out and are available, will also be available on Amazon
58:40
and many other bookstores. Pick them up.
58:43
I know we ended up on Barnes and Nobles and across many other
58:46
platforms, but it will, it will. We'll start our journey on
58:49
Amazon. OK, what's the Facebook page
58:52
that you mentioned? Yep, my Facebook page is Adrian
58:56
Keefe and Zelmo Make. Sure.
58:59
That we put that in the show notes.
59:02
And then how about just a general way for people to get in
59:05
touch with you? Would it be that same Facebook
59:08
page? Yes, absolutely.
59:10
I've had lots of families reach out to me over the years,
59:12
especially with neurodivergent kids.
59:15
I, you know, I don't pretend to be an expert on that, but as a
59:20
mom, I, I know sometimes it's you just, you want to hear I,
59:24
that I see you and I hear you and I know how hard this is and
59:28
you're not alone and everything's going to be OK.
59:31
And so I'm, I'm always here. I'm here, you know, in any
59:35
capacity that you know, people want to reach out and, and I'm
59:38
excited about, I'm excited about the future in these books and,
59:42
and everything that's ahead of us.
59:45
What about a Facebook page for the child care center itself?
59:50
Yes, you can also visit us on Facebook at To Be Curious
59:55
Children's Earning Center. And again, like you had
59:58
mentioned, we're located Boraca, Mass, and we love what we do.
1:00:04
I can tell it comes through. Last question I have for you
1:00:08
today, Adrian. How do you see your industry
1:00:11
evolving in the next few years? What do you think the big
1:00:12
changes are that are coming? You know, I think our industry
1:00:18
is a bit at a breaking point. I, you know, I think our
1:00:21
teachers are underpaid and underappreciated and I think the
1:00:25
cost of childcare is, is at an all time high.
1:00:28
And for this reason, I think it makes it a very hard balance
1:00:33
finding ways to keep teachers in the industry and wanting to work
1:00:41
and do this this hard and very important work while still
1:00:46
keeping childcare affordable for families.
1:00:48
And so I don't have answers to you about where we're headed,
1:00:52
but I do think we're headed somewhere.
1:00:54
And I hope that that somewhere is somewhere that considers all
1:00:59
stakeholders. You know, the Department of
1:01:02
Early Education and Care has been taking a lot of time and
1:01:05
sending out a lot of surveys to to owners and directors.
1:01:08
And so I think it's great that they're giving us a voice, but
1:01:11
we'll have to see, you know, what they do with that
1:01:13
information over the course of the next few years and and sort
1:01:17
of see how it evolves. Terrific.
1:01:21
Well, Adrian, I want to be the first one to thank you for
1:01:23
sharing both your time and your story with us today.
1:01:26
I I really appreciate it. Yes, like I said at the
1:01:30
beginning of the interview, I really appreciate you taking the
1:01:32
time to to bring some awareness to early education.
1:01:35
We need to get away from from calling it daycare and really,
1:01:40
really focus in on the important work that all people in this
1:01:45
industry are doing. I think one thing I did not get
1:01:48
a chance to, to say, you know, I, I said a special special
1:01:51
thanks to my family, but I think it's important to acknowledge
1:01:55
all the teachers that have worked for my facility and
1:01:57
really work across the state to provide this important service
1:02:01
because it it is tireless work. And we've had some really,
1:02:05
really wonderful individuals who have have joined us and stayed
1:02:09
with us through a lot. And I want to make sure that I
1:02:12
acknowledge and thank them for, for, for everything, what
1:02:15
they're doing day in and day out.
1:02:16
I tell them this in person, but it's important to really say
1:02:19
here as well. It's, it's such an important,
1:02:22
important work. And I'm, I'm just so, so
1:02:25
grateful for all of them. You know, I'm glad that you took
1:02:28
a moment to to give respect and call them out because this is
1:02:33
something that I agree with wholeheartedly.
1:02:35
And I've heard from so many other childcare owners that, you
1:02:40
know, these are such important formative years for our most
1:02:45
treasured and valuable assets and our little kids.
1:02:47
And there seems to be a bit of a disconnect, right, in terms of
1:02:54
what we're able to pay them, you know, for helping our children
1:03:00
through these, you know, incredibly important years and,
1:03:03
you know, what they're worth. And, yeah, I've talked to lots
1:03:08
of owners and lots of folks working at these centers.
1:03:10
And nobody really has sort of a, you know, a silver bullet
1:03:14
solution here because, you know, I mean, one answer would be,
1:03:18
well, just, you know, you just raise tuition.
1:03:20
Well, you know, there's a point where parents Max out on what
1:03:22
they can afford. And so there's, you know,
1:03:25
there's sort of this push and pull like, you know, how, how do
1:03:28
we better compensate these folks who are doing such an amazing
1:03:32
job with our children? And I don't know the answer to
1:03:36
it, but I, I'm glad that you took a moment to call out and
1:03:39
give respect to these people. It was one of the reasons why I
1:03:43
was inspired to do a series specifically on childcare
1:03:47
centers. You know, my kids were going
1:03:50
through childcare centers themselves during the COVID
1:03:53
years. And it really helps hammer home,
1:03:59
not that I ever, you know, took them for granted, but, you know,
1:04:03
as I saw them really struggle with sort of this bizarre
1:04:07
reality that been thrust in front of them and everything
1:04:10
that they were trying to do, from the teachers to the the
1:04:13
owners themselves to bend over backwards to help families out
1:04:17
and to to help our children. Just it really, it warmed my
1:04:21
heart in a way that's difficult to put words to.
1:04:24
And so, yeah, I'm, I'm glad that you took a moment to do that.
1:04:26
Thank you. Yep, I completely agree with
1:04:29
you. And, and, and you're welcome
1:04:31
because again, I, I say it all the time, these teachers, the
1:04:35
ones that are on the floor and with the kids, they're, they're
1:04:38
the, the heartbeat of this industry.
1:04:41
And so, yeah, thank you. Thank you so much.
1:04:45
Absolutely, folks. That's a wrap on another episode
1:04:47
of the Inspired Stories podcast. Thanks for learning with us
1:04:50
today.