...the discussion turned to why the profile of American educators who work with young children is almost exclusively female. When the speaker asked, rhetorically, what a man who works with children is considered to be, a woman in the audience said, "A pedophile." (I think the answer that the speaker was about to supply was "rare".)

The presenter, a librarian, storyteller, and specialist in literacy issues concerning boys named Michael Sullivan, pointed out that men who work with young children are one accusation -- not conviction -- away from loss of career and a ruined reputation. "We [men in these fields] all know this even if we don't tell ourselves every day."

Many early childhood education organizations will not even hire a qualified man because they fear parents' hysteria. As a result, in a room of about 150 attending this literacy conference, 5 were men. Six if I count Mr. Sullivan. The impact of the lack of male role models in educational settings upon boys in the US, particularly in the area of reading, where our boys are falling further behind every day, is devastating.

I remind everyone that though most abusers are men, most men are not abusers.