It’s Official
As of today, I am the only male teacher left in my pre-6 elementary school. The only male teacher in a building with 600 kids. It’s me, myself, and I. At least the line for the men’s room will be short. Oh wait, they turned that into a unisex bathroom three years ago. Never mind.
It’s been a slow process. Four years ago 4 of the 28 classroom teachers were males, along with the principal. Slowly but surely, though, they’ve all left and moved up to the middle school. The last holdout was probably my best friend on staff, a sixth grade teacher, but they involuntarily transferred him this year because he was the only person in the district HQ to teach both math and science. I thought they might be able to find a guy to fill his position, but no such luck—the four candidates that they interviewed were all females. This is on top of my old principal retiring and being replaced by a female candidate, a dynamic lady who I think will do an incredible job, but that’s still one less male role model for the kids.
District-wide the situation is similarly bleak. 4 years ago 7 of 55 elementary classroom teachers were male, for 13%. Today it’s 4 out of 48, or 8%. That number is elevated by our 4-6 elementary school, where 3 out of the 12 teachers are men. If you look only at my school and the K-3 elementary it’s one teacher out of 36: 2.7%.
I think there’s a problem. The question is, where is the problem at?
Is the problem my district? There were about 25 applicants for the 6th grade job in my building—there wasn’t one male among them who had the stuff to make it through to the interview stage?
Is the problem the pipeline? Are Eastern, Wazzu, Whitworth, and all the other teacher preparation programs doing what it takes to prepare men for possible roles in the elementary schools? I know they’re out there—why won’t they consider something K-6?
Is it a societal problem? Are we still at a point where gender identity matters so much that men can’t see themselves in that nurturing role in the primary grades?
Is it a me problem, meaning I see a problem that doesn’t exist? After all, shouldn’t we be hiring the best teachers for the kids, regardless of gender? Or race? Or any other metric of diversity? Is the work of sites like MenTeach important, or does it not really matter?
What’s the state of the male state in your school?
It’s been a slow process. Four years ago 4 of the 28 classroom teachers were males, along with the principal. Slowly but surely, though, they’ve all left and moved up to the middle school. The last holdout was probably my best friend on staff, a sixth grade teacher, but they involuntarily transferred him this year because he was the only person in the district HQ to teach both math and science. I thought they might be able to find a guy to fill his position, but no such luck—the four candidates that they interviewed were all females. This is on top of my old principal retiring and being replaced by a female candidate, a dynamic lady who I think will do an incredible job, but that’s still one less male role model for the kids.
District-wide the situation is similarly bleak. 4 years ago 7 of 55 elementary classroom teachers were male, for 13%. Today it’s 4 out of 48, or 8%. That number is elevated by our 4-6 elementary school, where 3 out of the 12 teachers are men. If you look only at my school and the K-3 elementary it’s one teacher out of 36: 2.7%.
I think there’s a problem. The question is, where is the problem at?
Is the problem my district? There were about 25 applicants for the 6th grade job in my building—there wasn’t one male among them who had the stuff to make it through to the interview stage?
Is the problem the pipeline? Are Eastern, Wazzu, Whitworth, and all the other teacher preparation programs doing what it takes to prepare men for possible roles in the elementary schools? I know they’re out there—why won’t they consider something K-6?
Is it a societal problem? Are we still at a point where gender identity matters so much that men can’t see themselves in that nurturing role in the primary grades?
Is it a me problem, meaning I see a problem that doesn’t exist? After all, shouldn’t we be hiring the best teachers for the kids, regardless of gender? Or race? Or any other metric of diversity? Is the work of sites like MenTeach important, or does it not really matter?
What’s the state of the male state in your school?
Labels: male teachers
posted by Ryan at 9:35 PM
1 Comments:
Ryan,
Interesting post and one that resonates with me.
I will try and comment on your last question- whats the state of the teaching in my state (country).
I left a 'coveted job' as a management consultant to come to teaching. Most people thought I had let go of my sanity.
Teaching was (and is) in India both:
1. Low paying
2. A 'half-day' job (quotes to reflect mindset)
In India, the average pay for a teacher may range from ($200 a month for a Kindergarten teacher) to $425 a month (for a High School Teacher). I have detailed a comparison with the US in my earlier posts here
The workday lasts till about 2pm
As the pay is less and as the job allows teachers to be at home (for child rearing duties post-work), teaching is seen as a job for the ladies.
I excerpt a recent interview we held to recruit teachers:
My Colleague (MC-one of a panel of 3 male interviewers): “Why do you want to be a teacher?”
Prospective Teacher(PT): “It is a noble profession for women.”
MC(Ignoring the platitude about ‘nobility’): “You mention women. Are you saying its not a noble profession for men.”
PT (rolling her eyes): “No way. Men should be doing better work.”
I have tried to express, in brief, why most teachers in urban India tend to be women.
The reason why the few men who still chose to be in teaching choose to teach senior classes is this: There is a sliding salary scale in India depending on what class you teach. This is roughly what it looks like (figures in US$ per month)
Kindergarten - $200-250
Grades 1-5 $250
Grades 6-8 325-350
High School $400-450
If anyone has been to a school, he would agree that dealing with the little ones is way more difficult (and hence, so is teaching them) than is dealing with older kids. Wonder who thinks up policy in this country.
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