Male Teachers

Bill North-Rudin
Elementary School
Teacher-in-Training

As a 50-year-old man on the verge of completing my M. Ed. and becoming an elementary school teacher, the cartoon is insulting, unrealistic and unfair. The last statistic I saw indicated that just under 10% of elementary school teachers are men, and many of the (female) teachers I have worked with assure me that the need for men is real and that I will be in great demand. The fact of the matter is that I am very comfortable with upper elementary students, both boys and girls, but CRINGE everytime I read another article about male teachers abusing their students. The cartoon promotes the myth that there must be something wrong with men who want to spend several hours a day, several days a week, with kids, and I take exception to its implications.

I can shed a little light on this I believe. Much of the decline and shortage of male teachers originated with Horace Mann and his idea that men were too disciplinarian. Women he proffered were less rational and were willing to work for about 1/3 the then going rate for school masters.
As I pursue a doctoral degree, I enjoy the learning, which is at the heart of education. There is much more to education than just becoming a teacher. That is just the beginning, albeit a great one, but no reason to sit on one's laurels when there is so much more to learn and apply. True, we male teachers are a rare breed in that most of us are in education to become professional teachers, not just as a means to bring in a second income that conveniently matches our kids' schedules. The time is now for men to begin to put the "pro" into the word professional and draw that line in the sand, then advancing forward with full purpose to do what we are good at...fixing things. Let's begin with education!!