The process of interviewing these very busy ladies has been challenging due to their schedules. They are both doctoral candidates and do a lot of community work. I have work to be flexible with their schedule while making sure I meet class requirements. I am gaining insight on things I can do more efficiently as I am fast approaching my project study.
I have found as I am progressing through this course project that my topic is leaning heavily toward male involvement and less to parent involvement. I chose the topic of parent involvement because it is so important in young learners lives. However my challenge topic has led me to look at father and male involvement not just from a local perspective but national and international. It has been interesting to learn how other cultures view the males role in the child's personal and educational lives. I hope to be able to share this great information with others.
Vanessa,
ReplyDeleteI am interested in the information you are gathering about male involvement. I work with at risk children, who are primarily being reared in female head of household homes. Most educators would agree that children need positive role models both male and female, however the reality does not support this in the children we serve. The children in my classroom are seeking positive male role models. We have two teachers who are men in older grades, our principal, and a few police officers who help our SRO. The children love when any of these men take time to talk to them. Last year, one of our police officers made point to drop in and spend time with a pre-K student who was having difficulty at school. You could see the child's face light up when Lt. Dowell arrived and when Officer Dowell praised the child for good behavior he was ecstatic. I would be interested in reading how other countries view male roles in education. Which country in your research seems to most support the male roles? Are there any countries you have encountered that seem to keep males removed from the education process?
Cynthia Thralls
Hi Cynthia,
DeleteSo far in my research I have found that fathers in India prefer to be apart of their child's learning experience. They also believe in planning their child's educational future. I have also read that fathers that are not married to their child's biological tend to not be involved in their child's everyday life. Thanks so much.
Vanessa
Hi Vanessa I think that male involvement is so important in a child's life. We have 3 male teachers at the center I work at and the children have really bonded with them. Over half the children at our center live in single mother headed households and the father is not involved in their life. This is an excellent topic to discuss and research. Good luck on completing your project.
ReplyDeleteVanessa,
ReplyDeleteYour topic will be interesting to read more about. We have one male student currently working in our program. The children think it is wonderful. I have had one parent tell me she does not want him to change her daughters diapers. I thought this was a very bias attitude. Have you found any information in this aspect while researching male involvement?
Laurel
Hi Laurel,
DeleteI have not read any information regarding male teachers in the preschool classroom. However I have encountered this issue in my Head Start program. Parents seem to automatically associate male preschool teachers with mature interactions. We had to move the child out of the class for the parent to be comfortable. The other parents did not have a concern. That is definitely an area to explored more. Thanks so much.
Vanessa
I am so excited that your focus is becoming more orientated towards fathers being more involved in a child's life. I believe that a father's influence is so important, especially in early years, in order for a child to develop a healthy sense of self. Mothers are wonderful nurturers and caregiver and provide children with so much, but fathers can be equally important in raising a child. I am so glad that early childhood professionals are working to engage fathers in the same way we have been working to engage mothers for many years. Good luck on your project and I look forward to seeing more.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Kim. I definitely read some interesting information so far.
DeleteVanessa
Vanessa,
ReplyDeleteMine is a small private school with all female teachers except for one male in the middle school. In my own school environment in the preschool department I have experienced parental comments such as "We do not want a man around our young children" or "If you hire a man for this school we will pull our child out." It is my opinion that men have a place in the early learning environment. I can somewhat understand parental concern toward men changing their child's diaper. However, in every other aspect of the early learning environment a male professional is an added bonus. When I did my clinical for my Masters I went to an early learning center where there were men in the 3-year-old classrooms up through kindergarten. They had a man/woman teaching team in each room and both were considered lead teachers. They did not have any men working with the infants through 2 years of age children because of parental concerns.
We try to engage fathers into the school environment on a daily basis. We have an event called Donuts with Dad where the fathers come into the preschool and spend the morning with their child. They eat donuts and read to or play with their child. This has opened the door to many opportunities for fathers to participate in our program. Too many children do not have a positive father or male figure in their lives today. Men in the early learning environment may provide the only positive exposure some children ever have in their life.
Darla
Vanessa,
ReplyDeleteI am interested to hear more about father's roles as well. I hadn't thought about this before but see the importance of fathers taking part in a child's upbringing. As you have shared, much of the educational push is for parents to support children. In your research, have you found there to be more pressure on mothers to support their children?
In Chile and many Latin countries, a father has a defined role in the family. Men go to work and work long hours to provide for the family while mothers are responsible for the children. This, of course, isn't the case in every family but it is for many.
When we first moved to Chile, I was appalled to find out that a woman could not travel with her children without written and signed permission from a notary by the father. The purpose was to protect the father from losing contact with his children and to protect the children as well. Now, the laws have changed and both parents are expected to get written permission from each other. It was a relief to many to have equal expectations for mothers and fathers.
-Jessica C.