Ask Dr. Helen: Should Men Be Kicked Out of the Church Nursery?
When I was an undergrad in the early 1980s I worked part time at a day care center, because the girlfriend of one of my buddies worked there. I guess I did okay with the kids because they kept me on for a couple of years. Then I graduated and moved out to Seattle.
While I was waiting to start grad school (to establish residency for a year) and looking for a more suitable job, I went and applied at a local day care. They had me come down for two days, and all of the teachers said I was fabulous with the kids. They said one girl who had been grabbing me by the hand to come out and play with her had never taken to a male teacher like that.
But then the director came right out and said they wouldn’t hire me because I was a man. This was when a lot of the big (faux) scandals were all over the media. I probably could have easily sued but I didn’t, and went off to work in a bank instead.
