Child care was not a career path that Pat Frouws had planned on - but taking the unexpected twist in the road turned out to be the perfect decision.
Frouws, the executive director of the SFU Childcare Society, says she's been in love with her field since stumbling into it some 30 years ago.
"It's an opportunity to love what you do and feel that it matters - what could be more fun?" she said.
Frouws sat down with the Burnaby NOW in her SFU office, a multi-windowed space that's surrounded by the same things Frouws feels make the best environment for children: lots of light, greenery and nature.
It may be an ideal setting for kids, but it's also a picturesque place to come to work each day, something that Frouws doesn't take for granted.
"It's beautiful up here," she said. "It doesn't get much better."
The path to this office on top of Burnaby Mountain began three decades ago.
Frouws' three children had reached middle school age, and she had a bit more free time on her hands.
Someone she knew was working in child care and there'd been an accident - they needed a last-minute replacement to step in, and Frouws, who'd been a parent for many years by then, helped out.
It was the first introduction to child care as a career and she quickly realized it was something she enjoyed and could see herself doing.
She took some early childhood education training through Burnaby continuing education and started working in the field. Over time, she continued to expand her education and become progressively more involved at a managerial level. Before coming to SFU, she managed a non-profit child care centre for almost eight years.
These days, she's no longer involved with the children at the centre in a handson way, but oversees the entire program - from staffing to admissions and expansions to funding. Wearing that many hats is challenging, but something she's still having fun with - and the learning continues, too.
In 2009, she finished a degree at SFU in the liberal and business studies program. At the time, she said the program had "stimulated and energized my work."
Prior to meeting with the NOW this month, Frouws had taken in a childcare conference, again coming away stimulated and energized.
"I'm just still so excited," she said with a laugh, describing the inspiration she'd found at the conference.
That excitement is something she hopes she passes on to those around her, but also to a new generation of early childhood educators.
"It's the same challenges as 30 years ago," she says.
As a society, she says, it's important that we develop a respect for those who guide our youngest members - and part of that comes down to being able to pay good wages to staff.
It's an investment that she says has big payoffs.
"If that funding - and support is there, and you're putting the money in now, you're going to see it in 18 and 20 years down the road when those children who have been in quality child care are going on to post-secondary and starting their own careers," she said.
"The benefit is to everyone."
Getting the best start in life is what SFU Child Care is all about - and Frouws is proud of her staff for the environment they create.
That's obvious as she takes the NOW into one of the child care rooms for a brief visit.
"It's comfortable and like home," she says, pointing out the cozy reading corners. Kids are working at different tables and spaces, playing and reading.
"My image of the child - I see them as capable and competent. They have great theories about how things work around them. They're delightful - they have so much to offer if we take the time to listen," she said. "They totally love life."
Part of that philosophy means recognizing that a child's interests and path may not line up with the parents - or even with the finely prescribed definitions of "success."
"I don't do the model that everyone should go to Harvard. They're all unique. We want critical thinkers and innovators," she said.
Frouws recites a pair of quotes that speak to this viewpoint: "We help children become the artist of his or her own excellence," and "Parents and teachers' role, together, is to shepherd the soul of a child, and to recognize and see them for who they are and love them for who they are."
"Aren't those great?" she says with a smile. "What a wonderful way to think about children and our role with them."
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