Comments on: Great Balls of Fire! Or fighting off attacks on men caring for children. With help from Tom Jones, Stevie Wonder and 70 men from Atlanta

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Sun, 27 Oct 2013 12:41:14 +0000

Hi Elly!!! Everyone should do their bit, whether they are a poet or not!!! I’ll definitely see what Me Bragg has to say!!
Great to hear from you!
Michael
PS SURELY THE MEASURE OF ANY MAN* IS HOW WELL ROUNDED HE IS?
(Or any human, in fact)

By: Elly Foster

Elly Foster — Sun, 27 Oct 2013 10:25:29 +0000

Hi Michael

I read some research in the BBC Wildlife magazine a few months ago where the relationship between testicle size and male parental duties was described. If I remember correctly, it was in a species of bird. Biologists and psychologists often carry out, to us, rather bizarre experiments.

Have you heard the latest Billy Bragg song? I think you’ll like it. It’s about the image of a man as the person who does diy in the house, or not, as the case may be. Billy Bragg prefers to see himself as a poet.

Elly

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 20:17:22 +0000

Hi Julie
So things in the US are similar to the UK then. However we are seeing more fathers sharing the care of their young children, and there is a growing debate about how to get more men working with children under five. Your ideas are very wise.
We tend to look to Scandinavia for ideas on how to make changes in society and education, and I will try and find out what happens over there.
Very best wishes from Michael

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 20:11:00 +0000

Thanks Anne
You are so right!
Best wishes from Michael

By: Anne Lawlor

Anne Lawlor — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 19:28:33 +0000

Oh wonders of wonders…. an intelligent, well thought out MALE voice. Of course the world would be a better and far more balanced place to live in if men were less ‘macho’ and more involved with kids. The world doesn’t need supermen, what it needs is ‘ordinary heroes’.
And you’re right, it does take “balls to be a bit different: particularly if you are a man who is prepared to look after his children in a society, culture or area where this may be judged to be unusual.” In this woman’s book this is my definition of REAL balls. Bring on the male revolution I say. Anne
Anne

By: Julie Barton

Julie Barton — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 19:34:08 +0000

In the US, only 3-5% of the early childhood workforce is male. I recently graduated from the early childhood program at a state university in New York. Only 2 men were enrolled in the program. (Three actually started; however, an early childhood professor convinced one of them to change his major.)

I just read an article in the May 2010, National Association for the Education of Young Children’s journal “Young Children.” The title of the article was “Men in Your Teacher Preparation Program: Five Strategies to Recruit and Retain Them.” Those five strategies were:

(1)Have men work with children immediately;
(2)Provide a mentor;
(3)Facilitate a men’s support group;
(4)Offer men a scholarship or stipend; and
(5)Adapt the program’s culture to welcome men

I think that these strategies could also be applied successfully in the workplace.

Too many young children in the US lack a positive male role model in their lives. It would be wonderful if we could convince more men to become early childhood teachers!