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Any parent will recognise Peter Smith's assessment of the boys he teaches at Hampton School in south-west London: 'Boys are like greyhounds. They love the chase and the race, and they don't care if the prize is a fake rabbit.'

Mr Smith had invited me into one of his English classes at this single-sex private secondary school to illustrate the point.

1) Join the Northeast USA mailing list or start your own
2) Pose with someone and we'll post your photo
3) A summer program that successfully recruits young men
4) Men on a Mission: Valuing Youth Work in Our Communities
5) The ongoing cartoon debate - offensive or lack of sense of humor?
6) Seeking men for a research project
7) You Teach What? The experiences of a teacher-principal-coach
8) Do you want to start your own male teacher training program?
9) A teacher's hard lesson: 'Not guilty' is not enough

[MenTeach: There are many lessons we can learn from women and from other professions. A member shared an article with us about a man in the nursing profession. Read the article - do any of the challenges sound familiar?]

A few good men
Male nurses defy stereotypes and discrimination to find satisfaction in a female-dominated profession

Where have all the male school teachers gone? Figures obtained by The Bulletin reveal there has been a consistent decline in male teachers across the Gold Coast region, with females outnumbering males by almost four to one in the classroom.

Poor salary and a negative perception of the industry has been blamed for the drop in the number of males taking up teaching.

Since 2003, there has been nearly a 2 per cent decrease in the number of full-time male state school teachers -- from 29.1 per cent to 27.2 per cent.

He came to the profession late in life, at the age of 35, after years of working jobs that held no real meaning for him. When Gregory Leontovich began his career as a special education teacher in 1992, he found his calling. Three years into it, his peers at his first school named him teacher of the year.

"I loved teaching," Leontovich said. "I still love teaching, but I know I'll probably never be in the classroom again."

Anne Arundel County has become one of six counties and cities nationwide that have agreed to hire former military personnel as teachers two years before their military service ends.

The decision, announced this month, makes the county the second jurisdiction in Maryland, after Prince George's County, to agree to such advance hiring.

John Babcock plops his sturdy frame into a wooden rocking chair in his kindergarten classroom at William Marvin Bass Elementary School.

He leans forward. Students sit on the carpet in front of him, legs crossed, eyes wide. They look up to their very own friendly giant.

The National Education Association said men make up only 25 percent of teachers nationwide. But those numbers dwindle further at the elementary level, where 91 percent of teachers are women.

But why are there so few men in our classrooms?

Tyler Shannon teaches fourth grade in the Liberty School District.

"I wanted to get into teaching because I wanted to make a difference," Shannon said.

Most children go through elementary school under the charge of few if any male teachers, and local educators don't like it.

Historically, the number of female schoolteachers has overshadowed the number of male schoolteachers. In fact, the numbers aren't even close.

The National Education Association says the population of male teachers nationwide has been shrinking for decades. Roughly 21 percent of the country's 3 million teachers are male, according to a 2004 NEA report.

One teacher, a father of four, left the business world where he had worked 24 years as a design engineer in telecommunications and had owned his own business for 15 years.

"While sitting in church listening to a sermon on a purpose-driven life, I felt God was speaking to me," said Roy Barga, an eighth-grade math teacher at Cheyenne Middle School. "He said, 'I want you to go teach.'"

School districts across the nation are on the prowl for a few good men because the number of male public school teachers has hit a 40-year low.

Men represent about a quarter of teachers nationwide, which is why colleges are taking a stronger approach to recruit men to major in education.

Franklin Elementary School teacher Robert Eldredge said it takes a special someone to be an educator.

The National Education Association says it needs a few good men to become teachers. The number of male public school teachers hit a record 40-year low in 2005. They represent only about fourth of the total number of teachers.

Gilroy public schools have about 516 teachers -- of that number only 132 are men. Gilroy is no different from other school districts across the nation experiencing a downward trend in the number of male teachers.

[MenTeach: Breakthrough Collaborative is an innovative program that we have worked with over the last few years. It is a fantastic summer (and year round) mentorship program that hires high school and college students to work with middle school children. Many young men get their start in teaching from this program.

Scott Schoenfeld is part of a dying breed. Mr. Schoenfeld, as his students call him, is one of few men who are teaching young children.

For some, low pay is reason enough to stay away from becoming a teacher, but men have another reason. Former and future elementary school teachers say there is a stigma over their profession, where men who want to work with children could be child predators.

Scott Waters, an elementary education professor at Emporia State University, said touch is a part of development, but teachers have to be careful.

The Schott Foundation continues to broaden its work (in addition to providing a one million dollar grant) at recruiting more men to teaching and sponsors a fellowship in Massachusetts.