Originally Posted by
acidfast7_2
Is this to support/promote men entering the teaching workforce? I don't see very many men here (SE England) in nurseries/infant schools, which is a shame as it's good to have at several genders/identities represented. There was one man at nursery out of 20 staff or so and only one man in the infant school, which has 5.4 FTE. So, good on you and nice to see some public support for it.
Yes, that's the idea. Originally, it was men of color. A white classmate of mine told me he got the scholarship and that it's now open to everyone. There are women in it. Changing the name would require forming the organization all over again, which, if you ask me, is really stupid. They are not reaching as many white men or women of any stripe because of the name. Oh well.
My career change story has received some interest from many people. There are people who change their careers to education but not many who do it at my age. I'm about to finish my MS in Special Education (grades 7-12). I'll start teaching full time this fall. I'm 64 years old, and I have not yet met anyone who started teaching full time at such a late age. I hope my health and energy hold up for a few years, because I really want to do this. I want to be the help I should have had when I was a kid.