Article Link: http://stage.exchangepress.com/article/myths-about-men-who-work-with-young-children/5016016/
There are many myths about why so few men work with young children. There are many more stereotypes about those men who do. These myths and stereotypes make it difficult for men to enter or remain in careers working with children. Consequently, most young children never experience having a man as a teacher or caregiver.Myth: Men won’t work with young children because of the money.
Truth: Men can be found working in many low wage jobs such as the fast food industry, general labor jobs, and temporary or seasonal work (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003). Men work in these low wage jobs because men are accepted in these settings and a number of other men also work there.
Another way of understanding this myth is to look at the number of men teaching in the primary and secondary grades. In school districts where teachers have similar levels of experience, education, and are represented by a union, the salaries are the same. In these settings only 18.3% of elementary and middle grade teachers are men compared to 44.8% of the secondary grade teachers. If money were the only reason men don’t work with young children, there would be more men teaching in the elementary ...