MenTeach - Web Articles

The more I learn about my eight year-old son's teacher, the more I am impressed. My boy says he likes him because he's funny and he's kind and has taught the class to play this bonkers game called Crab Football, which makes them laugh like drains. I like him too and for all the same reasons but also because he expects good work and behaviour from his class. And at parents' evening last week, which I was unable to attend, my wife Sheila learned something more.

The teacher praised our son, especially for his maths at which he excels (no thanks, I should acknowledge, to his dad). One thing, though, wasn't quite right. The teacher had noticed a reticent streak in the child, one that tends to surface when he's asked to provide something more than a factual answer to a question, when something more verbal, more personal is required. This shrinking from the spotlight isn't difficult to spot but what pleased Sheila was that the teacher took it so seriously. Soon, he explained, some special drama classes would be offered to children who were interested. These were excellent for building confidence and communication skills. He is determined that our son shall go.

Guardian Unlimited - UK

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Not long ago, the idea that American public schools should offer separate classes for boys and girls would have been regarded as retrograde; in the late 1980s, single-sex public schools had almost disappeared. But during the last decade, single-sex education has come to seem cutting-edge once again, backed by a startling rise of bipartisan support. In October, the Department of Education announced new federal regulations making it easier for public schools to become single-sex institutions, provided that "substantially equal" opportunities are available to the other sex. Part of the impetus behind the new rules is simply Americans' love of choice. As a Department of Education spokeswoman told me, single-sex schools will aid families by adding "one more tool to the toolbox." But part of it is the belief that single-sex schools will be a panacea for struggling boys and girls: Some of the staunchest advocates of alternatives to co-education are preaching new approaches based on magnifying, rather than trying to overcome, gender differences.

Slate.com

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A first grade teacher reports in his blog about the challenges a male teacher faces working with children.

Alternate Title: The Joys of Teaching
Alternate Alternate Title: Just Another Day in 1st Grade

One of my resource kids came up missing for a short time yesterday. I left the student teacher in charge, went looking for him, and found him in the stall in the boys bathroom.

"B, honey? Is everything OK in there?"

"Yeah!"

"Hurry up please, it's time to go to Resource."

"OK!"

As I'm walking off I look to the ground and notice poo. Lots of it. Some clumped, some puddled, but all on the floor in the stall.

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There is an interesting discussion about hugging children in the Atlanta newspaper.

Here is one excerpt:

As to the male teachers:

Remember I’m a lawyer - I do criminal cases. I’m by nature somewhat conservative. My point of view is skewed by my work where I walk into these disasters and try to throw enough oil on the water to get a resolution people can live with. Around here misdemeanor sexual battery is a lifetime sex offender registration. That penalty is so draconian you might have to jump on a simple battery plea to avoid the risk of losing the original charge at trial even if you could probably beat it. Or go to trial, pay the attorney and take the chances. In CA in sex cases your prior sexuality will probably come into evidence so kiss your privacy goodbye.

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I’m observing in a classroom this week and, as usual, learning a lot. This elementary school teacher - the same one who dares light candles in his classroom - is a self-proclaimed hugger. He hugs his students. He hugs the newspaper reporter. Students seem to associate his room with a place where hugs are available and therefore sought hugs from me. I was happy to oblige.

I know some teachers do not feel comfortable hugging their students. They fear a misinterpretation by parents or other staff members. No one wants to invite litigation. But still I can’t help thinking these kids respond to this teacher and work hard on their schoolwork to please him in part because of his willingness to provide the affection they crave.

Teachers, do you hug your students? Parents, do you want your teacher to hug your child? Is this a sticky issue in some schools?

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Male teachers have always been a minority in elementary schools, and their numbers have dropped to a 40-year low, a National Education Association survey indicates.

The numbers fell from a 1981 national all-time high of 18 percent to 9 percent in 2003.

Three hundred of the 2,775 elementary school teachers in Pima County are men. That's 10.7 percent.

While historical numbers for Pima County are not available, experts say the Tucson area generally follows the national trend, even though it's slightly above the national average.

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Brittany Waller attended schools in Orange County for most of her school career. In all those years, in private and public schools, she never had a ... black teacher.

Well, one — if mothers count.

"My mother was the gym teacher at Harmony (Christian School) for a while," Brittany said. "Having (others) would have been a nice encouragement."

Brittany's experience is not unusual. As classrooms in such districts as Middletown, Newburgh, Monticello and Ellenville grow more diverse, the teaching force remains overwhelmingly white — on average, about 87 percent.

Times Herald-Record - Middletown, NY, USA

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Male teachers have always been a minority in elementary schools, and their numbers have dropped to a 40-year low, a National Education Association survey indicates.

The numbers fell from a 1981 national all-time high of 18 percent to 9 percent in 2003.

Three hundred of the 2,775 elementary school teachers in Pima County are men. That's 10.7 percent.

While historical numbers for Pima County are not available, experts say the Tucson area generally follows the national trend, even though it's slightly above the national average.

"The lack of male (elementary school) teachers has been a pattern," said Ed Kowlaczyk, a former elementary school teacher and current Tucson Unified School District technology integration specialist.

It gets worse the lower the elementary grade.

Examiner.com

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Male teachers have always been a minority in elementary schools, and their numbers have dropped to a 40-year low, a National Education Association survey indicates.

The numbers fell from a 1981 national all-time high of 18 percent to 9 percent in 2003.

Three hundred of the 2,775 elementary school teachers in Pima County are men. That's 10.7 percent.

While historical numbers for Pima County are not available, experts say the Tucson area generally follows the national trend, even though it's slightly above the national average.

"The lack of male (elementary school) teachers has been a pattern," said Ed Kowlaczyk, a former elementary school teacher and current Tucson Unified School District technology integration specialist.

It gets worse the lower the elementary grade.

Examiner.com

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Role models strive to save young black men from negative stereotypes

In elementary school, Lionel Frederick could not sit still.

His Somerset County teachers often sent notes home to his mother that he was talking or walking around the classroom.

"I would sit and talk with him and tell him it's disrespectful for the children and teacher," said his mother, Rebecca Jones-Frederick. "(He) would be good for a week or two and then they would call me again."

By the eighth grade, Frederick's mother and teachers saw a drastic change in him. He stopped thinking it was cool to be a class clown. His grades dropped and he knew the road he was headed down wouldn't lead him to a successful future.

Delmarva Daily Times - MD, USA

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The lack of male teachers is a problem in America’s school system.

Public education is being forever derided for its shortfalls, but the voices of discontent are largely overlooking one unsettling trend in public education: About 80 percent of America’s teachers are female.

Does this really constitute a crisis? To many, it would seem unlikely that a teacher’s gender would affect students academically. One plus one equals two, no matter who teaches it, right? A recent study performed by Thomas S. Dee, an economist at Swarthmore College, indicates otherwise.

theTrumpet.com - Edmond, OK, USA

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Lorraine Ann Taylor's fourth-grade girls are working on their writing assignment, drawing up a list of things they are good at, mostly sitting in groups and minding their teacher's request to speak in their "whisper voices."

Across the hall at Lyseth Elementary School in Portland, Paul MacDowell's fourth-grade boys are sprawled on the floor or standing at desks. They're putting finishing touches on cardboard shields that theywill later emblazon with Greek letters. Soon the boys will take a quick break to do a few leg raises and squats before carrying on with their work.

Both classrooms are involved in a two-year experiment to see whether separating girls and boys will lead to better learning. For half of the day the children separate by gender for mathematics and reading, and then recombine for science and social studies.

MaineToday.com - Portland, ME, USA

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Claims about gender differences in education are greatly exaggerated.

DO BOYS and girls learn so differently that they need to be in separate classrooms?

That's the question stirring a national debate as the U.S. Department of Education prepares to issue regulations allowing public schools to set up single-sex classes and schools without being vulnerable to discrimination lawsuits under Title IX, which prohibits discrimination in schools.

Are single-sex classrooms the magic bullet that will produce academic achievement in public schools? Or are they simply a trendy idea based on bad science and even worse public policy? There's a real worry that the latter could be the case.

Los Angeles Times - CA, USA

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Education scholar finds girls learn better from women, boys from men

Gender matters when it comes to learning.

Boys and girls learn better from a teacher of the same sex, according to a recent study attracting the attention of educators across the country.

In the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District, having a balance of male and female teachers is a priority, said curriculum director Sandi Novak.

"You always try to hire the best candidate regardless of sex," Novak said. "But you want that balance, too."

At Nicollet Junior High in Burnsville, administrators looked at gender and chose single-sex classes as a remedy. And it appears to be working.

Pioneer Press - St. Paul, MN, USA

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Many students in this district might not experience a male teacher until they hit high school and it appears some schools are at odds with the Ministry of Education as to whether this is a concern.

Figures from teacher payroll data show that at state and state-integrated primary schools in the Gisborne region in 2006, only 22 percent of teachers were male

Of the 21 new teachers beginning in Gisborne state and state-integrated primary schools last year, only four were male.

This was a big gap in gender for the region and there was always a need to have a balance, said leadership and management adviser at School Support Services, Don Niven.

"Men have a different perspective and at the moment there are some schools where students can go right through to high school before having a male teacher," he said.

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Teaching has always been a female-dominated profession. But men are becoming an increasing minority in classrooms, particularly in elementary schools, where they may be needed now more than ever.

In 1981, the high-water mark for male teachers, men accounted for a third of all teachers and 18 percent at the elementary level. Men now account for 21 percent of the teaching force and a scant 9 percent at the elementary level.

Amid the reasons experts and pundits alike offer is pay and prestige. Teaching has historically trailed other avocations in pay. As late as the early 20th century, it was not unusual for districts to have two pay scales, one for women and another for men that was 30 percent to 40 percent higher.

Add to that the distinction that teaching was a "women's" profession. America sends men a contradictory message: Be strong and a good financial provider, yet be nurturing as a father.

While some men can do both those things, as teaching demands, many others pay more heed to the financial end of the equation and bypass teaching. But are low pay and job prestige the only reasons men are shying away from becoming teachers?

DetNews.com - Detroit, MI, USA

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As an early childhood teacher, Dylan Topping says displaying affection towards children was of "incredible importance".

But up until now, his union has advised him not to have physical contact with children.

The conviction of Peter Ellis for sexually abusing children at the Christchurch Civic Childcare Centre resulted in the New Zealand Educational Institute drawing up a code in 1998 which warned against touching children as it could be misconstrued.

But today the union, which represents staff at primary schools, early childcare centres and special education centres, launched new guidelines on physical contact which encourage "positive and affirming" contact to provide emotional support or to praise a child.

New Zealand Herald - New Zealand

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SOMEONE said to me the other day, “Have you ever wondered why there always seems to be more women than men in the teaching profession?”

When you think about it, the word “more” itself is an understatement really because in almost every school I’ve been in, lady teachers far outnumbered the men. The ratio of women to men, on average, was something like 4:1.

“It’s one of those things that we’ve lived with for so long and grown so accustomed to that we no longer find it unusual,” said Lyn, who has been teaching in the same school for 15 years.

“Like the holes on the cement floor along the school corridors, classroom fans that don’t work throughout the year, correction fluid graffiti on desks, whole stacks of blank answer scripts from the weak classes.”

“Anyway what’s wrong with a four to one ratio?” asked History teacher Encik Azmi, with a wink and nudge to his good friend and colleague Mr Tan.

“Four ladies to one man. I don’t mind at all. Pretty good balance eh, what do you think Tan?”

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Malaysia Star - Malaysia

What's so unusual about putting a man in charge? At Alma Schrader Elementary in Cape Girardeau, it's so unusual--Shawn Brooks really stands out. The fourth grade teacher is the only man heading up a classroom at the school, and the first male teacher Schrader's had in 10 years.

KFVS - Cape Girardeau, MO, USA

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Latest figures on teaching show the number of men in the profession is continuing to shrink.

About two out of ten primary school teachers are men.

United Future’s deputy leader, Judy Turner, says the latest figures should be ringing alarm bells.

She says they mean that about a third of children may go through their primary schooling without ever having a male teacher.

Ms Turner says male teachers are desperately needed in primary schools to provide positive male role models for children, especially boys.

University of Auckland’s Dean of Education, John Langley, backs this renewed call for more men in the classroom.

He says there's no evidence that men are better teachers, but it is about having a balance especially at a time when there are many single parent families.

newswire.co.nz - Havelock Nth, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Many kids will never have a male teacher

United Future deputy leader Judy Turner today sounded the alarm over the disturbingly low number of male primary school teachers throughout New Zealand.

“We desperately need male teachers in primary schools to provide both quality care and education, and provide positive male role models for our young children, particularly boys," said Mrs turner, a former primary teacher.

"Nationally, 18% of all primary school teachers were male for the years 2003-2006, down from 19% in 2002.

"Last year’s national intake suggests that things are not getting any better, and figures of beginning teachers entering primary schools show that 1,133 females began teaching in 2005, compared with only 267 males.

Scoop.co.nz (press release) - New Zealand

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Many kids will never have a male teacher

United Future deputy leader Judy Turner today sounded the alarm over the disturbingly low number of male primary school teachers throughout New Zealand.

"We desperately need male teachers in primary schools to provide both quality care and education, and provide positive male role models for our young children, particularly boys," said Mrs turner, a former primary teacher.

"Nationally, 18% of all primary school teachers were male for the years 2003-2006, down from 19% in 2002.

"Last year's national intake suggests that things are not getting any better, and figures of beginning teachers entering primary schools show that 1,133 females began teaching in 2005, compared with only 267 males.

"This is a huge problem that has not been adequately addressed or acknowledged by the Government.

Scoop.co.nz (press release) - New Zealand

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Mario Barkley recently began his second year as a teacher at Hampton High School, his alma mater.

Barkley's government and U.S. history students ask him all sorts of questions: Did you play sports in high school? What was college like? Are you married?

"They're trying not only to relate to you but to put themselves in your shoes," said the 25-year-old teacher, who, like many of his students, is black.

"In this area, you have a lot of kids who don't have positive male role models. Their male role models might be a rapper or an athlete," said Barkley, who graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2004. "I'm just like them. I came from a middle-class home and had a single mother. ... If I can be a successful professional, so can you."

Daily Press - Newport News, VA, USA

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Sixth grader Anna Belue’s social studies class at Landrum Middle School is a little different from most social studies classes.

When her teacher, Jeff Johns, points to different places on maps and globes, he can talk from personal experience.

“I can tell them that I put my hands on the pyramid,” Johns said.
That’s the benefit of having a retired Army colonel as your social studies teacher.

“We’re like ‘woah,’” Belue said. “We can’t believe it.”

Belue and the other students light up when Johns tells them of his experiences. Their reactions are the main reason that Johns retired from the Army after 27 years to teach sixth graders.

“It was an opportunity to make a difference in kids’ lives,” Johns said. “It was a calling.”

‘Patriotic obligation.’

Teaching wasn’t the Raleigh, N.C., native’s first calling, however. Johns, 49, graduated in 1979 from Appalachian State University, where he served in the ROTC while in school.

Tryon Daily Bulletin - Tryon, NC, USA

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This is a special class in more ways than one. The music, smiles and laughter, but most important, this 3rd grade teacher is a guy...and you don't see too many of these any more.

Sandra Ramirez thinks it's easy to like the difference.

She says, “He's very funny and smiley and sometimes he speaks Spanish. I teach him some Spanish stuff.”

Dr. R, as they call him, used to work at a college. But, after teaching here for 4 years, he wouldn't trade it for the world, even though it is a challenge teaching an Early Intervention Program for at-risk kids.
WNEG - Toccoa, GA, USA

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Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc., the nation's largest black fraternity, is developing a national strategic plan aimed at addressing such problems as the low numbers of black males majoring in education and black men's disproportionate health issues.
Black College Wire - Washington, DC, USA

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Editorial
Some children were a little nervous about being in Frank Bott's fourth-grade classroom at Lawson Elementary in Johnston — and not because he has a reputation for being tough. It was the first day of his teaching career.

The problem is that many students today have never had a male teacher. The percentage of men in classrooms in Iowa and around the nation has plummeted. In 1985-86, 36.5 percent of Iowa public-school teachers were men, according to the Iowa Department of Education. That compares to 27.4 percent in 2004-05. In private schools, the percentage of men is even lower — 19.8 percent.

DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines, IA, USA

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WASHINGTON — For all the differences between the sexes, here's one that might stir up debate in the teacher's lounge: Boys learn more from men and girls learn more from women.

That's the upshot of a provocative study by Thomas Dee, an associate professor of economics at Swarthmore College and visiting scholar at Stanford University. His study was to appear Monday in Education Next, a quarterly journal published by the Hoover Institution.

Vetted and approved by peer reviewers, Dee's research faces a fight for acceptance. Some leading education advocates dispute his conclusions and the way in which he reached them.

But Dee says his research supports his point, that gender matters when it comes to learning. Specifically, as he describes it, having a teacher of the opposite sex hurts a student's academic progress.

"We should be thinking more carefully about why," he said.

Dee warns against drawing fast conclusions based on his work. He is not endorsing single-sex education, or any other policy.

Rather, he hopes his work will spur more research into gender's effect and what to do about it.

His study comes as the proportion of male teachers is at its lowest level in 40 years. Roughly 80% of teachers in U.S. public schools are women.

Dee's study is based on a nationally representative survey of nearly 25,000 eighth-graders that was conducted by the Education Department in 1988. Though dated, the survey is the most comprehensive look at students in middle school, when gender gaps emerge, Dee said.

USA Today - USA

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Gregg Huddlestone has been teaching kindergartners at Peters Elementary in Plantation for 24 years, enough time to hear all the stereotypes about male teachers who dare to enter the classroom. Not once has he thought of forsaking his students for higher-paying jobs.

''I have always liked to work with children, especially young children,'' says Huddlestone, father of three and a former guidance counselor. ``They're much more moldable and you can get them started on a positive road to liking school.''

Dave Garcia is a former Marine, Peace Corps volunteer and a sheet metal fabricator with undergraduate degrees in sociology and anthropology and a master's in education. He teaches shop to kids at Ferguson High in West Dade.

''The best thing for me is the work environment,'' Garcia says. ``I enjoy working with the students and I'm passing on skills I love.''

Miami Herald - FL, USA

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Men are disappearing from elementary schools.

Two trends are converging to lower their representation in K-8 classrooms: More women are stepping up to become principals, and fewer men are becoming teachers.

In Arizona, almost 60 percent of grade school principals and nearly 90 percent of teachers are women. Six years ago, the majority of principals were men. Some schools have no men, meaning kids may not have a male teacher or principal until middle or high school. It's the same picture nationally.

Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ, USA


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JOSH ABRAHAMS LOVES HIS JOB. He may not make a lot of money, but the work he does is important. He is the lead teacher in the 3-, 4- and 5-year-old class at the Columbia University Head Start in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood.

This morning, like most, he’s arrived early to get a jump-start on the day. While he heats up a cup of coffee in the classroom’s microwave, he takes out a yard-long piece of taped-together construction paper and secures it to the wall by the front door. It outlines some of the activities his children will choose from today: blocks, library, writing table, dramatic play, discovery table, painting.

Delta SKY Magazine - May 2006

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A Louisville-based social justice group is calling on Kentucky Education Commissioner Gene Wilhoit to reinstate an African-American teacher who was not rehired by Simpson County schools for the coming school year.

The decision not to rehire Lonnie Winston, a special-education teacher and basketball coach at Franklin-Simpson Middle School, has prompted an outcry in the community, where a forum on the issue drew about 150 parents, students and teachers.

Louisville Courier-Journal - Louisville, KY, USA

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More than 30 people gathered in the gym of the Bragg Hill Family Center for an important discussion last night--how to address shortfalls in the education of African-American children.

Educators, parents and concerned residents met for the third in a series of events put on by the Coalition of Concerned Citizens, a consortium of Fredericksburg city and Spotsylvania and Stafford County schools, local churches, and civic organizations.

The coalition's mission is to improve the academic achievement of African-American students.

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The Free Lance-Star - Fredericksburg, VA, USA

I was reading the obituaries, as I do every day since I turned 50, when I saw it. Bruce R. Church of Fairport, July 11, 2005. Mr. Church was my seventh-grade teacher at Kodak Park School 41 in 1965. I remember him as if it were yesterday.

I have been lucky to have had wonderful mentors, but Mr. Church had the most profound effect. I used to think it was because he was the first male teacher I had, and I'm sure that had something to do with it.

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Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Rochester, NY, USA

Amid all of the gloomy news about the plight of Black males, there are some bright spots, according to a recent study, “The Truth About Boys and Girls.”

Although the statistics from the Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) used in the study show Black boys are still disproportionately behind their White counterparts and Black girls, the report notes that there is some improvement among Black males in reading, math and geography.

Amsterdam News - Baltimore, MD, USA

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MANGCONGCO Primary School teachers have engaged in a class boycott complaining about a litany of problems which remain unresolved at the school.

Top of their grievances is lack of electricity in the teachers’ quarters, which they allege subjects them to cold baths. The school, situated south of Bhunya within the Manzini region, is community owned.

Since Monday, pupils only come to the school to bask in the sun while teachers, all female, either sit in the staff room or loiter around.

They have vowed to continue the boycott until the school administration takes their concerns seriously. Contacted, head teacher Amos Seyama, who has been in the school for 19 years, said he was not aware of the boycott.

The teachers complained that only the head teacher’s house had electricity...

Male teachers:

The school has no male teacher except for the head teacher. “Male teachers do not stay in the school for a long time. They teach for a few months and leave for other schools,” another teacher stated.

The Swazi Observer - Mbabane, Swaziland, Africa

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Nulkaba Public School principal, Brian Collins has a lot of female company these days.

The school principal for the past nine years, is the only male on staff at the school, with the other 23 teachers and administration staff being female.

He became the sole male staff member at the school when the assistant principal retired last year.

The school has 400 students and 15 classes, with student numbers continually growing each year and is typical of the gender ratio in schools across the State.

One school in nearby Hamilton is without any male teachers or staff members.

Men in primary education have always been scarce according to Mr. Collins.

When he undertook teacher training around 40 years ago there were 900 people in his course, with 200 males.

This experience is strikingly similar to casual teacher Harris Withers's.

Cessnock Advertiser - Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia

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Administrators in the California State University system had already decided “we have to go to them,” as Charles B. Reed, chancellor of the California State University System, put it.

By “them,” Reed meant California ethnic and racial groups underserved by higher education. Many high school kids from underrepresented minority groups have never been on a university campus, nor have their parents. “If you’re invited to San Francisco State on Tuesday night to Smith Hall,” says Reed, “it’s a very foreign place.”

What Reed needed was a venue that people could trust, that had been a mainstay of the community, and that could answer questions without seeming either pedantic or intimidating.

So Reed called Bishop Charles Blake, pastor of West Angeles Church of God in Christ in South Central Los Angeles, and a leading figure in black Los Angeles. West Angeles has a membership of 22,000 strong. The church has two entire choruses, and, for Reed, it offered a captive audience of thousands. Blake and Reed decided to have a meeting of the minds to discuss how to get more black students, especially men, into college.

Inside Higher Ed - Washington, DC, USA

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There's a lot of hand-wringing going on over NCEA results that suggest girls are leaving boys in the dust at high school.

Indeed, the bald statistics show an average 10 percent gap between their achievements, including subjects such as science, once the preserve of male excellence. Less clear is the explanation for this state of affairs - what is going on, why, its seriousness, or the long-term implications.

Boys find it harder than girls to learn to read.

That much is generally accepted, but that's about where the consensus ends. While some apparently believe the education system has gone to hell in a handcart thanks to feminism run amok, others suggest the biggest problem is that boys need to grow up, forget the warrior thing and find a new masculine identity.

Hawke's Bay Today - Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

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Most black male students who are pursuing teaching degrees at several state colleges never had a black male teacher when they were in elementary school, says Roy Jones, director of the Call Me Mister program.

The program, which is coordinated by Clemson University, was launched in 1999 to boost the number of black men who teach kindergarten through eighth grade in South Carolina public schools. It now has sites at five four-year and five technical colleges, including Trident Tech. Jones hopes to expand the program to include a four-year college near Charleston.

Charleston Post Courier - Charleston, SC, USA

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Sometimes it's as interesting to watch an audience as it is a performance. I'll never forget the time I was in a movie theatre to watch Tarzan with my son the artist.

Before the movie started, a row of rowdy young teenage boys three rows in front of us was annoying everyone with their coltish antics. Why they were there, no one could imagine, but there they were. The movie started; the story quickly drew us in. It drew me in because it was pressing hard on all my mother buttons. A mother gorilla's baby was killed. She rescued the infant Tarzan, who quickly grew into a spunky and brave little person despite rejection by the alpha male gorilla. Also, the art was fantastic and the dialogue was clever. It was not hard getting me to buy into Tarzan.

CBC News - Canada

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The effect of male teachers in elementary schools, relationships and retirement are just some of the 36 Western research projects to receive nearly $3 million from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

"The number of different disciplines represented shows the breadth of social sciences and humanities research and its contributions to the health and well-being of individuals and our society at-large," says Ted Hewitt, Western's Vice-President (Research and International Relations).

Western News - London, Ontario, Canada

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Lewiston Sun Journal Published : Sunday-June 11, 2006

Have you ever wondered why there are so few men teaching in elementary schools? I suspect that most people haven't. Many probably just believe it is a commonplace and doesn't need much reflection. If you asked someone, they might respond: "That's just the way it has always been."

Traditionally, women have done most of the teaching at these grades. However, this is increasingly being scrutinized, including by many in Maine. Why are there so few men? What societal consequences does it have for our kids? What might be done to change the situation?

According to the Maine Department of Education, only 16 percent of all full-time classroom elementary teachers in 2003-2004 were men. Nationally, according to a 2003 study, only 9 percent were men. How do you explain this?

An obvious reason is that teaching doesn't pay much compared to other professions. If you get a college degree, you can earn much more money in business or engineering. The average beginning salary in 2003-2004 for a Maine teacher was $25,901, hardly enough to raise a family on.

You can also make good money in jobs that don't require a degree. Even with the decline in manufacturing jobs in recent years, many men still work in that sector of the economy. If you combine the financial reasons with a strong dose of traditionalism (where the man is supposed to be the primary breadwinner), you have an atmosphere where teaching young kids just doesn't appeal to many men.

There is another explanation that doesn't get talked about much, at least in public. It has to do with stereotypes of masculinity. To put it bluntly, teaching just isn't thought to be very masculine, particularly teaching young kids.

Boys suffer from this. They are not academically doing as well as girls in Maine's schools based on many categories. For example, they score lower on reading and writing standardized tests and are much more likely to receive special education classes.

Obviously, one cannot say that the educational struggles of boys are directly caused by a lack of male elementary teachers. However, it would be equally misleading to suggest that there is absolutely no relationship between the two either.

Having more male teachers could help alleviate a more fundamental problem: the lack of male mentors for young boys. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, in 2004 almost 25 percent of children in Maine were raised in single-mother households.

Boys need male role models that value education. As Bryan Nelson, founder of a Minnesota-based non-profit group which tries to find male teachers, states: "Children are no dummies. When they don't see any guys, other than the janitor and maybe the principal, they get this message that this is not a place that's important."

Boys need to see men who spend their time reading, thinking and communicating the joy of learning to them. If they are not present, countless boys will get lost in school and never get back on track.

Girls also suffer from a lack of male teachers at early grades. They need men in their lives that they can trust and relate to. If their father is absent, a male teacher can help fill that role. There are many organizations that recognize the importance of men on the development of girls. Dads and Daughters is one of them (www.dadsanddaughters.org).

This issue needs more public exposure. There is evidence that this is occurring. The Portland Press Herald recently published a special report that addressed, in part, the scarcity of male teachers in Maine. There have also been recent press reports about this topic in Kansas, Alabama and Utah. There is also a recruitment program called MenTeach (www.menteach.org).

There are men in our own community who are training to become teachers of young kids. Bill Murray of Auburn is one. He is simultaneously pursuing degrees at Central Maine Community College, USM's L/A College and a K-8 teaching certificate. When he finishes, he hopes to teach in Auburn.

Bill decided to become a teacher for many reasons. He needed a non-physical job because of an ailment he got after long-time employment in manufacturing. He also realized that many teachers were getting close to retirement and positions would open up. A family-friendly schedule would also allow him to spend more time with his young children.

Recently, Bill did some of his field experience at Sherwood Heights Elementary School in Auburn. Along with his mentor, the staff and teachers gave him tremendous support. I asked Bill what he enjoyed most about becoming a teacher. He said "being approached and having that kid say something to you that proves to you that you've got that connection."

How can we get more Bill Murrays? One way is to squarely confront the misconception that teaching young kids is not the work of "real" men. Real men help fix a problem when they see one. All men have to do is open their eyes and begin to make the connection.

Karl Trautman is the chairperson of the department of social sciences at Central Maine Community College. He was a policy analyst with the Michigan Legislature from 1997 to 2001. He can be contacted at karltrautman@yahoo.com

Remember the Police ballad of the 1980s — Don't Stand So Close to Me? It was written by Sting, the band's lead singer, who at one time was employed as a teacher. Well, if Sting were going to do an updated 2006 version, he could call it something like, "Don't Come Into My Classroom Alone or I Might Be Charged with Abusing You."

You see, when a male teacher goes to work these days, not only does he contend with society's contempt for the low status job he's taken, he often makes less money than his buddies in their "male" jobs, and now he also has to watch his every step. If a student hurts herself in the playground, is a hug appropriate? Is it possible to offer after-school help to just one student and not risk suspicious glances? With these worries it's no wonder the number of men teaching in elementary and secondary schools is declining.
CBC News - Canada

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When certain elements of a successful upbringing aren't present in a child's home environment, the schools often answer the call in filling in the gaps.

Absent from the homes of many of Vance County children are positive male role models, and during a Vance County Schools community forum last fall, an elementary school teacher asked the district to consider hiring more male teachers at the elementary school level. Vance Schools Super-intendent Norm Shearin, however, said the district's main objective right now must be recruiting and retaining certified teachers regardless of gender.

“We'd like to have more males, you're doggon right,” Shearin said. “One of our needs is male role models.

Henderson Daily Dispatch - Henderson, NC, USA

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Working in child care presents an opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of children and their families. Research supports the importance of the relationship between a caregiver and a child in a child care setting. Men in child care have a valuable role, including showing boys what they can become and providing all children with models of nurturing males. Listed alphabetically, the following is a sample of organizations and resources with information about men in the child care field. They address the barriers to involvement of men in child care and strategies for increasing the number of qualified men in the field.

Visit the National Child Care Information Center website.

Administration for Children & Families, Washington, DC, USA

The school year is winding down, but this is the time teachers are hired for next school year.

And there is a shortage of male teachers, especially at the elementary level.

Experts say the shortage is hurting students.

Jeff Kerr is a first-year, 1st grade teacher at Lowman Hill Elementary in Topeka.

Kerr was a construction worker before he chose to teach.

"My mother was a teacher for 33 years. She taught 2nd grade for 32 years," Kerr said. "Just growing up and seeing her, she was an inspiration to get into this field."

49abcnews.com - Topeka, KS, USA

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The question was baited. Gabe Gandy chuckled.

“If a new business came to Troy and you were offered $75,000 a year to come on board, would you?”

“Hey, that's a lot of money,” Gandy said, laughing. “I love kids and I love teaching. It's what I have wanted to do for a long time. I've been teaching two years now and, if I had to do it all over again, I would. Only I would do it better.”

Gandy is a fourth grade teacher at Troy Elementary School. He and Jim Chance are the only male faculty members who are in the classroom.

“Students here aren't really used to a male teacher and some seem to be a little intimidated,” he said. “But, others - students I don't even know - will come by and say, ‘Hey, Mr. Gandy,' so I think they are okay with me.”

And, Gandy is certainly okay with them.

Troy Messenger - Troy, AL, USA

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Male teachers are a dwindling breed.

* A few good men. Just 24.9 percent of the nation's 3 million teachers are men. (ii)

* Slow extinction of the male teacher. The percentage of male elementary teachers (9%) and male secondary teachers (35%) has fallen gradually since 1961 and now is at the lowest level in four decades. (i)

* More money, more male teachers. States with higher teacher salaries tend to have the most male teachers. Michigan ranks first in the percentage of male teachers (37%), and ranks in the top five nationally in teacher pay. Mississippi ranks 50th in the percentage of male teachers (18%), and ranks 49th in teacher pay. (ii)

The teaching corps in public schools does not reflect the diversity of the student population.

* More teachers of color are needed. Nearly four out of every 10 students is a minority (40.5 %), yet the teaching profession is overwhelmingly white (90%). (i) Some 40 percent of all public schools have no minority teachers on staff. (iii) Additionally, fewer than half of teachers participate in professional development related to managing diversity in the classroom. (i)

* The percentage of African-American teachers is the lowest since 1971 (6%). (i) Only five percent of the nation's teachers are Hispanics, Asians or are from other ethnic groups. (i)

* Classroom success depends on cultural diversity. Some research suggests students of color perform better -- academically, personally and socially -- when taught by teachers from their own ethnic groups. (vi)

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The "feminisation of the curriculum" is making boys drop worryingly behind girls at school, a leading Whangarei principal says.

Whangarei Boys' High School headmaster Al Kirk made his claim after the newly released National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) results showed Northland girls are blitzing boys academically.

Mr Kirk believed the curriculum had been feminised through an emphasis on essay writing, analysing and planning - skills that were generally girls' expertise.

"In technology boys like making things - bang, it's finished. Now you've got to design the project, talk about the design and write essays.

That doesn't appeal. Guys hate that stuff," Mr Kirk said.

Northern Advocate - Whangarei, New Zealand

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From The Tampa Tribune: Male kindergarten teachers are under increased scrutiny because of societal fears of pedophilia. Many male teachers feel they have to defend their choice of profession, as many people are suspicious of a man working with young children.

"I have had many people ask me why I want to teach little kids, but they ask as if there's something inappropriate in my motivation," says Samuel Williams, 38, and a kindergarten teacher at Ippolito Elementary School. "There's a real double standard."


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Dr Paul Baker, Rector of Waitaki Boys’ High School and a member of the Ministerial Reference Group set up two years ago to guide the Government on boys' education is speaking today to a conference on Boys’ Education at Massey University Albany Campus. These are his speaking notes.

A four-year study observed how 14 young chimps in Tanzania learned, by observing their mothers, how to catch termites, using a thick stick as a tool. The mothers showed no gender preference in teaching. The daughters copied them closely while the sons "would quickly lose patience and play games". On average, the females learned the skill in 31 months; the males 58 months.

Adrienne Alton-Lee cautions about using the gender gap "as a kind of absolute measure of what matters". But, even in the Simian world, it's the gender gap by which we have come to judge male achievement - and in the human world, it is changes in the gender gap, more than any other factor, that brings us here today.

New Zealand Herald - New Zealand

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No researcher has found a direct connection between teacher gender and student achievement. Some have refuted a connection by observing that the gender gap is much greater at secondary level where there are more male teachers.

If there is a connection between teacher gender and male learning, it will be more complex and subtle than that. In 1998 Farquhar outlined some of the possibilities. Male teachers are more likely to motivate boys, cater for boys' interests, provide stable male figures for students who lack them at home, an