Herland
Why are there so few male teachers?
by L. J. Williamson
August 11, 2008
There are a number of reasons why men don't find teaching, especially in the early childhood years, an attractive option. One of these is the pay. We all know that teachers at the elementary school level hardly bring home a king's — or even a queen's — ransom, but a teacher in early childhood education makes even less.
"There's loads of research that says that early childhood is a critical time in development, yet we don't value the people that work with that age group," says Kristi Bowin, Professor of Child Development at Moorpark College in Moorpark, California. "But I think having males enter the field would help that. As things are now, men don't want to be teachers because they don't want to be poor."
"We pay our mechanics more to work on our cars than we pay people to watch our kids, which tells you something about our values," observes William Marsiglio, Professor of Sociology at the University of Florida and author of Men On A Mission: Valuing Youth Work In Our Communities. "As long as we as society continue to perpetuate the narrative that being nurturing to children is inherently a gendered process, we'll never have gender equity. It will continue to be a society in which women are disadvantaged, and males are given an excuse not to be involved. "
"Males bring something different to the table than females do," Bowin says, and there is plenty of research to back her up. While female caregivers tend to be the ones who excel at tasks such as soothing children who are upset, males' strong suit tends to be what researchers call "play willingness," being ready and available to engage in more physical, Those men who might be willing to put up with the low pay might find themselves also having to put up with fierce and blatant gender discrimination.rough-and-tumble play, as well as encouraging more risk-taking behaviors in children. "Female preschool teachers tend to value calm play and emphasize the importance of social development, while male preschool teachers accentuate the significance of physical development," summarizes one study. During those occasions in which Bowin has had male students enter her child development program, the children's response has been striking. "It's amazing to me; when there's a male, the children fall all over him. When you have a young man, they're drawn to him. They're starving for it!"
Despite the evidence that a mixed-gender care environment has distinct benefits for children, those men who might be willing to put up with the low pay might find themselves also having to put up with fierce and blatant gender discrimination. Many parents simply aren't willing to allow their children into a situation where a man might be the one changing diapers.
©2008 L.J. Williamson and Nerve Media
About the Author
|
|
Related Articles
|
|
L.J. Williamson is a writer from Los Angeles. Her complaints have been printed in The Los Angeles Times, Salon.com, and Utne, to name a few. She lives with her husband, Monkey Man, and their two children, Fifi Bird
and Sugar Guy. Her website is ljwilliamson.com. |
|
|
-
by Jean Railla
Why today's women are choosing to have babies alone.
-
by Miriam Axel-Lute
Official advice about lead poisoning is either too scary or not scary enough.
-
by Kathi Alexander
Is "child-centered" parenting producing a generation of brats?
|
