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A #SaveUNSWEarlyYears thread about the challenges of raising a family on the other side of the world from home, the importance of #EarlyYearsExcellence, and musings on #GenderEquity 👇 1/12
6.5 years ago, @ctrnm and I moved halfway around the world so that I could take up an exciting faculty position in @UNSWScience. Moving so far from friends and family is hard, but @UNSW had a good vibe and I was impressed by the feeling of collegiality from top to bottom. 2/12
A couple of years later, we started our family. @UNSW Early Years had an amazing reputation but was known for being incredibly hard to get into. We joined the waiting list early and felt like we'd won the lottery when we got a place for our daughter at Kanga's House. 3/12
Our daughter became the latest in a long line of @ramacgenomics babies to attend Kanga's House. Each Early Years centre has its own personality, and we were thrilled to join this community. It takes a village to raise a child, and we had found our village. Our baby thrived. 4/12
Raising kids 17000km from family is mentally, physically and emotionally hard. The genuine love and care we experienced at Early Years made all the difference. Kanga's House staff were our second family. When we had our second child, signing him up was an easy decision. 5/12
I don't think It's an exaggeration to say that without #EarlyYearsExcellence, we probably would have said a regretful farewell to @UNSWScience and moved back to Europe to be with family. Instead, we stayed and joined our little Aussies as citizens. 6/12
Our son had already made some bonds with educators during pick up and drop off of his sister. Thanks to the amazing continuity of care, he settled quickly and has also thrived. The difference this has made for us as working parents cannot be overstated. 7/12
Kanga's House educators have not just influenced our children with their wisdom and experience. They've helped us grow as parents. It's been an honour & a privilege to work with this team and see our baby girl develop into the amazing kid she is today. #EarlyYearsExcellence 8/12
Even with this help, parenting is hard, especially when things like coronavirus come along. For the third year in a row, I've given up on trying for promotion as I simply do not have the energy. Statistically, women are hit harder than men (like me). 9/12
natureindex.com/news-blog/coro…
After @ausgov left Universities high and dry in their coronavirus economic response, @UNSW announced two weeks ago that they were thinking of closing Kanga's House and privatising the rest of Early Years. It was a massive blow to #GenderEquity 10/12
In the following days, the Early Years community came together like never before to challenge the decision. I've never been part of a more committed, devoted and creative collaboration. 100s of parents and allies came together to #SaveUNSWEarlyYears 11/12
This is not just about sentimentality: we believe the @UNSW response to this crisis will be strongest if it continues its UNSW2025 commitment to #GenderEquity with #EarlyYearsExcellence at its heart. Now is the time for true leadership. #SaveUNSWEarlyYears 12/12
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