Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/when-the-director-is-a-man/5014707/
One sunny morning a worried mother called the child care center with an issue of concern. As she explained to the receptionist, she was concerned that a young male student aide was doing diapers in the toddler classroom on this Tuesday and Thursday mornings. She said that she wanted to discuss this with the director. "I'll transfer you," said the receptionist. "By the way, what is her name?" the mom asked. "HIS name is Dennis," was the reply. CLICK.The disappointed parent hung up the phone. Any desire to share her concern seemed to have evaporated when she received the unexpected news that the director was a man. It is hardly surprising that her expectation was that the director would be female. Parents and others, when approaching a child care director, often begin with the expectation that the director will of course be a "she." In most centers that expectation will match reality. It is estimated that about 2% to 5% of the child care workforce is male. There is little to indicate that the percentage changes when we count center directors.
To get a picture of my own portion of the field, I reviewed the membership directory for the National Coalition of ...