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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am a male teacher who works with children who are not yet toilet trained and have also worked with children in the process of toilet training and I have never had a parent take issue with this, nor have I ever worked for a center with that kind of policy. I would likely not accept a position at a center with this policy because, as a couple others have said, it sends the wrong message and children, even very young ones, do notice these things. I would also just feel very guilty, because me not doing my share of the diapering responsibilities means that my co-teachers would be picking up that slack and that would hardly be fair on them. I get why a center might make this policy, but I think to do so is only perpetuating the idea that any male who chooses to work with young children must have bad intentions. Every center should have their centers designed as well as policies in place to protect [i]all[/i] workers from any sort of accusation. For instance, at my center, all staff members must be fully background checked and fingerprinted before handling or diapering children, classrooms have an open design so that anyone passing by can easily see what is happening inside, the bathrooms are attached to the classroom and are also open, and there must be at least two staff in the center when children are present.

I work with young children because I love to learn about early childhood education and child development, I love to be active, I find it to be a great creative outlet, I love having the ability to form meaningful connections and become a positive force in the lives of the children I care for, and I just find it incredibly fun. And just like any job, it comes with the less exciting stuff like diapering, cleaning and other housekeeping tasks, and paperwork and although these aren't my favorite tasks, I am still happy to do them because they are part of my job. I also happen to subscribe to many of the ideas in the RIE school of thought, which, among many other things, views "mundane" tasks like diaper changes as an opportunity for learning and relationship-building ([url=http://www.janetlansbury.com/2010/05/how-to-love-a-diaper-change/]Nice article about that here.[/url]). And while I have encountered exactly zero cases of harassment in my early childhood career (this is just my personal experience, I am not trying to claim that sexual abuse in early childhood settings absolutely never happens, I know it does, albeit very rarely and I would guess primarily at centers who have not been diligent in their hiring practices), I've certainly seen teachers who rip children away from an activity they were focused on with no explanation or warning and change their diaper without so much as a word to them, other than perhaps to reprimand them for not cooperating, or any explanation of what they were doing.

I believe it would do everyone better to give up on the scare tactics and trust centers to properly screen and hire employees, both male and female, who are trustworthy, appropriately experienced, and understand child development. Perhaps then more males would choose to pursue early childhood and children would be able to see that not only can females take on roles that have been traditionally male, but males can take on more traditionally female roles and be competent, caring caregivers.[/quote]

OMG.  I wish you were my kid's teacher.  Where do you work, if you don't mind me asking?[/quote]

And I was thinking,  oh my gosh, I want to hire you! I'm a center director... if you are ever interested in a job....[/quote]

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