Listen up! Demystifying the cult of the male teacher in Early Childhood Education (original) (raw)

Male teachers are a rare and special breed of teacher in the world of early childhood education and every week new articles surface championing male teachers. The messages are many. There's the good: role modelling, gender equality, supporting boys learning, new perspectives and ways of being. And of course there are the 'reasons' why men aren't busting down the door: it's women's work, low pay rates, challenges to their masculinity, fear of sexual abuse allegations, and difficulties of returning to study late in life, are common excuses touted as barriers. It's confusing. And I believe that's kind of where we men are at in Early Childhood Education: confused, but it needn't be so. I believe we have a problem with stereotypes – socially constructed ideas about gender, about what men and women can and cannot do, who can be masculine and who can be feminine that create 'barriers' and much hand-wringing. We are also guilty of exploiting these stereotypes to gain advantage. Men may be a minority in ECE, but we know how to work it. We can deal with the 'barriers to male participation' issue in the stroke of pen: quit whining. Yes its hard work and the pay is crap etcetera, but get over yourself and get stuck in. We made these walls, these 'barriers to participation', to protect our privilege and it's up to us to start dismantling them. The question of what is expected of male teachers is a bit trickier. We are to be role models: a father-figure for those without, a source of raw 100% masculinity, a challenge to gender stereotypes, and an attempt to counter the ridiculous 'boys are victims of a feminised education system' discourse. It's busy! That our participation hinges on the idea of role modelling is problematic in that we assume developing a gender identity is simply about showing/reinforcing what is 'correct' to be a boy or a girl. We teach them the rules. It takes an essentialist view of gender, that it is black and white, clearly defined, and that it is a fixed state of being. If it's as simple as teaching a child what to be – why does it often blow up in our faces? Clearly there is more to gender construction than merely accepting messages from parents, teachers, the media and wider society. From Naiama Browne (Gender Equity in the Early Years, 2004): children receive multiple messages that are often conflicting