Men in Early Childhood Education: My Interview With Preschool Teacher James Crawshaw by Mike Prochaska

James Crawshaw is from Surrey, U.K., and worked with preschool-aged children. Here's how he feels about men working in the Early Childhood Education field.

Q. What do men bring to the classroom?

"Men bring a whole different variety of learning to children’s development. They’re more inclined to engage in physical play and get dirty with the children. More physical learning experiences are opened up, I feel, with men working with children."

Q. Why is play important for children?

"Play is very important to enhance development, as it allows children to put the skills they learn into practice as well as learning social and interpersonal skills themselves."

Q. What is your favorite memory working with children?

"My favorite memory is having a parent come and ask me if I’ve been teaching the children Japanese, because she found her son counting to 10 in Japanese in his room while playing independently."

Q. What would you tell someone who was thinking about becoming an Early Childhood Education teacher?

"Make the most of every opportunity you get in the role. It is such a rewarding role and even though you’re teaching the children, you also learn so much as every child is different."