Wanted: Male Teachers

I've talked about this before, but, at some point, you just have to keep pushing the issue out there and hope that people understand what's at stake.

Check out the latest data on how many teachers there are for early education and childcare across the United States.  According to this survey, the number is less than 10%.  That's somewhat amazing, isn't it?

And, a guy who I respect a lot, Bryan Nelson of MenTeach, opines that it is not that men as teachers make some kind of outstanding difference in the lives of young people, though there are people prepared to argue that, but rather, the imbalance contributes to a continuing inequality in the roles of men and women in American society.

Essentially, when certain roles and professions are closed to a gender, that means that people with certain skills, interests and proclivities are unable to pursue a field that would be a nice fit for them in terms of a career.  When we have enough individuals without a good fit for their life's work, we end up with a less productive and less fulfilled society.

What are the reasons that we are getting fewer and fewer men into the field of teaching, particularly at these early education levels?

1. Stereotypes

Men are often portrayed as unable to be nurturing, caring,
or patient with young children. Men who express a desireto work with young children are stereotyped as sexualpredators, and this is a major impediment to men who
want to enter the field.

2. Low Salaries.

Given that early childhood education is viewed as “women’s
work” and lacks the perception of professionalism, early
childhood educators are not paid on a par with their elementary,
middle, and secondary teaching peers. The salaries ofearly childhood teachers in Massachusetts follow this trend, discouraging many qualified teachers of both genders fromentering or remaining in the profession.

3. Lack of Support

There is currently a lack of invitation and ongoing support for
men to teach. In a field where women represent the majority
of teaching staff, men are often stereotyped as to which
roles and functions they will have in the field. As a result, men
in early education tend to experience isolation and sexism.
“It has also not been unusual for many male teachers to be
coerced out of the classroom and into administration. The
tendency for women to teach and men to manage is a deeply
rooted form of sexism in education.”