Editorials

I’m a black male elementary teacher, and I’ve just finished my first year working for a black principal. It’s been incredible. I’m fortunate to have worked with school leaders of all races and genders. But perhaps because of his life experiences, my current principal has a certain mix of rare qualities that have created a powerfully positive working environment for me.

It hasn’t always been that way in my teaching career. I’ve felt sidelined, misunderstood, and disrespected at some of the other schools where I’ve taught. It’s just the opposite in my new job.

My name is Andrew Gilles and I am majoring in Early Childhood Education.  In November of 2018, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend and present at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference in Washington D.C.

Last month I had the privilege of presenting at the NAEYC conference in Washington D. C. What was even more of an honor and thrill was that I took two of our male students, Dylan and Andrew, to the conference. Together we presented our research about the dispositions men use to engage children in learning.

After finishing up my student teaching placement and having time to reflect on all the challenges, accomplishments, peaks and valleys, I realized never to judge something before you get the chance to experience it. When I found out that I would be doing one of my student teaching placements in a four-year-old kindergarten classroom, I immediately had mixed emotions.

Summertime brings celebrations; many which pay tribute and honor to those who have gone before us. At the end of May, we celebrated Memorial Day; a day dedicated to the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. On July 4th we commemorated our freedom and on Labor Day we will honor working people. Each of us pay tribute in our own way through our celebrations of these holidays.

I have always loved playing with young children, especially infants and toddlers. However, when I was younger I never envisioned myself as a teacher. Many years ago, my good friends unexpectedly had colicky twins and they really needed help. That changed my life. That experience unintentionally lead me into teaching. Now it is one of my biggest passions. It is a huge part of my family life.

Twenty-five years ago, while attending the National Association of Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference for the first time, I became interested in the male perspective of teaching young children. It was during this conference that I found myself drawn to presentation topics given by men in early childhood education. While the issues presented about young children were parallel to those that women presented, there was something unique about the demonstration style and the message carried by the male speakers.

I come from a family of 5, that includes my parents and a younger brother and sister, each of us 4 to 5 years apart. Growing up, I helped my siblings gain skills and knowledge that I acquired from my own experiences. These included riding a bike, reading a book, training for a sport and aspects of becoming a leader.

Another year has begun and the excitement of students returning to campus has been refreshing and hopeful. There is nothing like a break away from our daily routines to engage in purposeful reflection resulting in a rejuvenated spirit. This renewed attitude makes me wonder about the places we will go!

It began with humor and the connection with every student and colleague. Mr. Greg Lenn is an amazing teacher, father, husband, colleague, friend, and mentor. For over 20 years, Greg has given back to many people in his role as second grade teacher at Malone Elementary School in Prescott, Wisconsin.

Every day, teachers connect with students, their families, administration, and the community at large. We know all too well that a lack of connection will impact the building of relationships and the learning that occurs. The reality of college teaching is that connections with students vacillate and dissipate as students earn their degree and move into the teaching profession.

If you ask every teacher and staff member in an elementary school to give their definition of professionalism, chances are, every definition will be different. Many responses hit on some similarities to the definition, but in all reality the word holds a different meaning for everybody. So, how do you know if you are showing professionalism? What if your definition is totally different than a colleague?

MenTeach: A few readers have asked how much web traffic does our site have. MenTeach.org has been around since April 2002. We've had one revision of our site back starting February 2007. You'll see below that we've had over 2.4 millions hits in the last two years. The software that tracks our site traffic screens out the spambots (as best it can).

The key is that the site continues to grow in popularity.

Year    Unique      Visits     Pages        Hits          MBytes

Promoting diversity to increase the number of Black male teachers, and Hispanic male teachers, in public schools is vital to improving the educational outcomes for boys and young men of color to put them on a path to success.

For a little over a decade, my life has been dedicated to the growth and success of students of all ages - university students, high/middle school students, and for the last eight years, elementary students.