It's an arena where Chinese men have feared to tread. Full of doubt, watching eyes, and most daunting of all, children. But 20-year-old Ding Pan is not afraid. He signed up at a kidergarten last year, the only male on the teaching staff at his school. He receives more attention and pressure than other female teachers, he says. “So my mistakes and achievements are both magnified.”

Women's world?

Ding Pan graduated from a vocational high school of Dongcheng District last year, majoring in preschool education. He still remembers the day when he came to the school to sign up. “There was a big scroll hanging outsie the main building which read, ‘10 males required for preschool education program.’” Ding was curious. He had studied calligraphy and liked arts very much. He knew the preschool education included courses on singing,ncing, painting and music, which matched his interests. He decided to give it a try.

But Ding’s decision aroused concern in his family. His mother and grandmother supported him but his father opposed his choice, sayingmen were careless and clumsy and not suited to taking care of children. He also felt it wasn’t a promising career. “Fortunately I had two family members helping me. We took turns to talk to my father and finally persuad him.” Ding later passed the entrance examination and enrolled as one of the ten males on the course.

In 2002, as the best student among the ten males, Ding graduated from the vocational school and began his career. “Iwas under some pressure. As a male teacher in a kindergarten, everyone paid attention to my performance,” says Ding. He also felt uncomfortable surrounded entirely by females. “On the first day, when I went to the dini room to have lunch, the women teachers looked at me curiously. I didn’t know where I should sit. Finally I went to a corner and sat down by myself.”

The beginning was a little hard. A lot of kindergarten schools in China allow the children to board there during the week. It takes pressure off busy parents, but means extra responsibility for teachers. Ding found himself not only teaching classes but also looking after the daily life of the children which was totally new for him. “At first, I didn’t know how to comb hair for girls and they always said it was painful. Another teacher then taught me how to do it. She combed a girl’s hair in front of mnd I followed her example.” Ding’s skills improved rapidly and after a short while, he was even able to create different hairstyles. “Now all of them want me to comb their hair,” Ding says proudly.

Another thing that troubled Ding was bathing the children. “I didn’t dare to touch their little limbs for fear that I might hurt them. When I put soap on them, they said it felt ticklish. And I was afraid they might fall since the floor waset and slippery. I didn’t know where to start.” Again Ding learned from other experienced teachers and before long, he could do the work easily.

But Ding says there were still some parents who could not accept the ideaf a male teacher taking care of their children. “The kindergarten was confident, but some parents were not. It’s a question of concept.Ding once met some parents who came to enter their children’s names for the kinderarten. “They mistook me for a parent. I told them I was actually a teacher. They said, ‘A teacher! Good! We’ve finally got male teachers!’ I was very happy to hear them say that,” Ding smiles.

Enjoying being with children

Ding says what he enjoys most about the job is that he feels every day is a happy day being with children. “It is easy to gain a child’s trust, as long as you look at everything from their point of view and regard yrself as equal to them.” Ding likes sports and he becomes one with the children when playing with them. When he teaches the children to roller-skate, some children will deliberately bump into him and knock him down, andthen all the children come to climb on top of him. Sometimes he’s more a friend to them than a teacher.

Ding is very popular with the children, which he attributes partly to his teaching style and partly to the fact that he’s a man. “I think the atmosphere in a kindergarten should be like a family; both women and men are needed, just as there is a m and dad at home.”

Children have their own way of showing love. Sometimes they come to hug Ding or just hold onto his hand all the time so that he cannot do anything else. They even call him ‘Daddy Ding.’

On Friday afternoon when the children are taken home by their parents, they often invite Ding to go back home with them. “I will ask mm to cook you a good dinner. She is very good at cooking,” they would say, “and we can go to somplace to have snacks at night. Tomorrow I will go with you to the amusement park and in the evening we will go and visit a friend of mine...” The children always suggest a busy schedule, but Ding has to refuse with thans. “Every time when I turn them down, they are quite disappointed.”

To take good care of the children, Ding has to be very cautious. “It might seem like an easy job, but actually it’s quite stressful. We have to keep alose eye on every child, in case anything should happen. Because I am a man, I feel I should be even more careful.” Ding says sometimes he even does not have time for a drink of water, worrying that he may lose sight ofone of the children.

Confident in the future

Since becoming a teacher in the kindergarten, Ding has realized more and more how important preschool education is for the healthy growth of a child and how vital the teacher’s role is. “A good personality is formed during childhood,” he says.

Ding has found that children tend to imitate his speech and actions. “They would say, ‘Do not speak! Keep quiet!’ with the tone and pitch exactly e mine. I realized I must pay more attention to my own manners. Children are like a piece of white paper and teachers can help to draw pictures on it. The teachers' influence, in some ways, is more important than that o the parents’ because the children stay with us for five days a week.”

Ding says he has learned many new things and also improved his personality during his work. “Once I gave a singing lesson. It as supposed to last half an hour but it went on for an hour and some children still didn’t learn. I had to teach them individually, but still some could not make it. I became impatient and criticized them. Later I realized that different childre had different abilities in study. There was no fault in them. Now I am more patient.”

Ding used to be a quieter person, but the job has made him more talkative. “I have to speak more, and should have many styles of lanuage. When I play with the children, we pretend to be different characters in a story. I have to enter into the spirit of my role. And if the role is a girl, I should speak in a girl’s voice.” This can catch him out ase occasionally lapses into one of his role-playing voices when he’s out with his friends who then tease him mercilessly.

As a male teacher, Ding feels he has had opportunities as well as pressure. “Male teachers in a kidergarten are still something new. So if we do well, it will be noticed immediately.” Ding believes male teachers have their own features and strengths, and his future plan is to study more about preschool education and pssibly pursue management.

For the time being, his career has just begun and he still has many things to learn from other experienced teachers. “I don't have regrets. I like to work hard and show my ability.” Now Dingther is very satisfied with his son and Ding's work is also admired by most of his former classmates. “They think I am doing an interesting job and always encourage me to work hard.”

A new semester is soon to begin, and Ding will have a new assignment: teaching the children science. It’s a new course in his kindergarten and he has made great efforts to study the teaching methods and prepare the lessons. Ding regards this as a new oppotunity. “Maybe I can use the experience and write papers on teaching children about science in future.”
     
(China Daily September 24, 2003)