 |
 |
RE: How to recognize and challenge institutional bias toward men.
|
posted by gregory uba
|
|
actually, the "culture" of an agency is something that is important to discuss with intention and thoughtfullness... institutional biases are imbedded in an organization's management and team cultures.
|
|
RE: How to recognize and challenge institutional bias toward men.
|
posted by gregoryu@cfc-ca.org
|
|
naeyc has a glbtq interest forum... i know that they have been working on a position paper or resolution... i have contributed some thoughts to the group, but don't know where it all stands as of this moment... barry busswitz has also done dome great workshops on this topic at California AEYC conferences... jerry (the group moderator) should know how to contact barry... i think that we as men have our own biases... many men presenting workshops on ECE begin by announcing that they are married or have children (as if to code their heterosexual status)... so yes, even within our men in ece group, we have to work our some issues... although at caeyc there are some fabulous workshops where men openly discuss these sorts of issues... maybe we'll see you at caeyc conference this year in long beach california?
|
|
RE: How to recognize and challenge institutional bias toward men.
|
posted by cmckay@csub.edu
|
|
I would like to be included in the discussions from this site.....
|
|
RE: How to recognize and challenge institutional bias toward men.
|
posted by gregory uba
|
|
just moving this toward the top of the message board
|
|
RE: How to recognize and challenge institutional bias toward men.
|
posted by Brian Silveira
|
Hi Paul,
I have worked in ECE for 22 years as a floor teacher.I often speak to schools and to university classes about biases toward men in ECE. I get funny looks when I attend AEYC conferences as a man in a sea of women, I get checked at the door by security guards who can't believe a man would work in this field. Yet I think their are strong biases among men working with children and that bias is that we should not disclose our sexuality to our ECE community if we are gay. Many of us are gay and, just as men bring an important piece of diversity to the classroom by virtue of being men, so do gay men bring an important message to children and families, especially if they feel safe being out. We can set a foundation for a just and safe world for LGBT folks, many of whom will be our children we serve as they grow up LGBT in a dangerous school system that doesn't support them. The AEYC system does not encourage us to bring our whole selves to the classroom, I feel that when all men feel safe and welcomed in the classroom, there will be a great increase of men in ECE. Sincerely, Brian
|
|
RE: How to recognize and challenge institutional bias toward men.
|
posted by Jerry
|
You've identified some active ways to address the issue, Greg; thanks for your response.
It seems to me that each male in a child care setting is a representative, whether they choose to be or not, for other men in the field, and so there seems to be an inherent responsibility among us to be our best selves, both personally and professionally.
I found myself this week talking more directly to the men in the parent education meeting of the parent co-op that I direct. Because the dads have chosen to be a part of their children's education, they seem to be more open to the views that I express regarding child development, but we still end up discussing how these ideas challenge the way that they were raised and their expectations of their children.
One current active military dad has some resistance to the whole approach, but it is interesting how sharing my own influences and experiences with military attitudes regarding child development and discipline, and contrasting them with developmentally appropriate practice, has seemed to generate some credibility for me in his eyes.
|
|
RE: How to recognize and challenge institutional bias toward men.
|
posted by gregory uba
|
|
i will be going to a community college to speak to a group of ece students on boy friendly environments... i will also take the opportunity to bring up the topic of male involvement in the field... i encourage all of you to offer your services to the local colleges as speakers in their ece courses... our agency gets invitations to present to colleges and also to programs... we've presented at head start trainings on male involvement to a group of 300 staff... and we've talked to centers with 4 teachers... only time will tell if it's enough to make a difference.
|
|
RE: How to recognize and challenge institutional bias toward men.
|
posted by gregory uba
|
|
clearly the social stereotypes are among the most challenging... ask bryan nelson of minnesota about his mcdonalds question... also, lack of male involvement being encouraged from fathers and grandfathers of children in programs... the absence of men as professors in the ECE field... in other words, the bias begins at the foundation... the best way to challenge the bias that i have found is to ask teachers and mothers as well as fathers, "where do you want your children to learn the role of man and father? from t.v? from video games? or from parents and trained professional teachers? and where will girls learn what to expect of men if they see no men in their school lives for years? and finally, what message do we give to boys of their place in school when no men seem interested in being a part of it?"
|
|
How to recognize and challenge institutional bias toward men.
|
posted by Jerry
|
Paul Miller writes:
I . . .(am) interested in the institutional barriers to men in child care . . . I suspect it starts with the stereotypical role of men and women to care giving. It is reinforced along the way with suspicions by staff in programs, licensing, media, and families that men are in the field because of their sexual interest in children. Ironically, I see a lessening of parent concern, but many programs overtly discriminate, and licensing certainly reinforces the discrimination. Media basically covers the negative that licensing uncovers, either with or without legitimate basis, because it sells newspapers, TV ads, etc.
Jerry writes: Please post any thoughts that you have on this topic.
|
|
