Article Link: http://www.exchangepress.com/article/a-manner-of-speaking/5016188/
“Expect Male Involvement” reads the button Don Piburn gave to me at NAEYC. I felt honored that he knew I would be proud to stand behind this message. In a professional world where we know the power of expectations in shaping the development of young children, we may forget the power of expectations in building and training staff.Many of the finest human beings I know happen to be men in early childhood �" but there are so few of them. How strong and dedicated they must be to remain in a field where they are so undervalued, even unwelcome. There are many reasons (or are they excuses) offered as to why men do not choose early childhood as a career: low pay, poor benefits, limited opportunities for career advancement, vulnerability to accusations of abuse. But these are also issues for women, and yet women choose early childhood, both single women and women supporting families. If we are truly honest, we, as women who are directors, educators, teachers, parents continue to play a major role in keeping men away and perpetuating gender imbalance in our ratios. Just as women who are mothers sometimes hold tightly the ownership of parenting, women in early ...