This appeared in the Yuma Daily Sun on 6/25/95
Man oh man!
Male primary grade teachers add another dimension to classes.

By REBECCA ROLWING Staff Writer

There was something intimidating about Eunice's first grade teacher. 

It was the appearance that did it.  "I thought 'Oh my poor baby,'" recalled Alice Quinonez, mother of 6-year-old Eunice.There was no long skirt dropping to the floor, no long hair pulled neatly back into a bun. There was something distinctly different.

The first grade teacher, you see, was a man.

Quinonez was concerned her timid young daughter wouldn't respond well to a male teacher.

After some discussion, she and her husband decided to give Don.Curry, Eunice's first grade teacher at Otondo School, a two-week try. If things didn't work out, then she could transfer to another classroom.

"To our surprise he was great. All we heard for the first two weeks was 'Mr.Curry, Mr. Curry,' � Quinonez said. Eunice happily stayed in Curry's class for the rest of the year.

Curry is a member of a small, but slowly growing, group of male teachers who educate young students.

Garry Emanuel, chairman of educational leadership at Northern Arizona University, said NAU encourages men to become elementary school teachers so schools will have a better balance of male and female teachers.

"If all they have are female role models through the sixth grade they will be in for a real shock in junior and high school," he said.

Male teachers also offer boys, especially those without fathers at home, somebody to look up to. "Little boys do a lot of hero worshiping. They need to have somebody they can identify with," Emanuel said.

Eugene Bently, whose son Beau was in Curry's class, agreed. "I think children could use a bit of �male influence� during their formative years, he said. This way children will be less intimidated by men, he figures....

Perhaps some students in Curry's class could use some glasses. "They call me Mom all the time. I take it as a compliment. Who is closer to them than Mom?" he asked. "It's OK as long as they don't call me Grandpa...."

Both [another male teacher] and Curry plan to-continue educating young children as long as they remain teachers....
Neither considers being male makes them better teachers than their female colleagues.

Actually, both say they have been well received and positively influenced by women teachers.Curry said, it takes a lot of energy and a bit of silliness to be a good first grade teacher. Good first grade teachers need to be energetic, enthusiastic and not afraid to look like a fool. After all, he gets to sing, dance, draw and occasionally act like a child.

"I think you have got to feel comfortable with yourself to teach first grade," he said. Even if that means wearing a Mickey Mouse tie or a Santa Claus hat...."

Quinonez said she believes male teachers allow children to experiment more, while female teachers tend to be more mothering. Eunice has become more talkative and outgoing over the past year, which Quinonez partially attributes to her being in Curry's class.

"He has pulled her out so much," she said.

She recommends all parents be open-minded about their children having a male teacher while they are in younger grades. "Also, don't  jump to conclusions that men aren't as nurturing." 

Bentley agrees, "Whether they are a male or a woman doesn't disqualify  them   for  being a good teacher."