MenTeach E-News
April 2013
1) Help with a conference presentation
2) Study looks at shortage of male teachers in younger grades
3) Men in Your Teacher Preparation Program: Five Strategies to Recruit and Retain Them
4) Dominica Teacher Wins Phenomenal Male Teacher Award
5) Schools attracting more male teachers in New Zealand
6) Man dispels childcare myths
7) Report about men teaching in Florida classrooms
8) Men in Childcare Half Day Briefing in London
9) Kids would benefit from more male teachers, experts say
10) The Male Minority
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1) Help with a conference presentation
I am presenting in a couple weeks at our state conference and my topic is “Open forum: Understanding the Male ECE Teacher.” I am hoping to get a lot of questions and discussion to help create future presentations.
I attend men in Early Childhood Education sessions when they are offered at conferences and I feel there is a lack of people discussing what exactly it is like being an only male at your job. I also feel, from my own experiences, that it can be very discouraging to males going into our line of work. It can be stressful at times and rough trying to get your point across. I tend to not fight as much for what I believe because I feel like my ideas are disregarded because they are different. I also find a tad unfair that I am forced to look at things from their point of view and it seems like there is not as much of an effort to look at things from my point of view. I work with ten women and, (right now), 14 lead student teachers who are women and then around 30 or so assistant student teachers who are usually, and are now, all women. Whenever I am passionate about things I am told I am emotional, as it is a bad thing for a man apparently. I enjoy all of the people I work with but sometimes become very frustrated with being the only male…” Read the rest of his e-mail: /node/2155
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2) Study looks at shortage of male teachers in younger grades
Men who are studying to become teachers are more likely to drop out before they graduate, if they enrol at all.
Two local education professors don’t have to look much farther than their own classroom to see that, and the findings of their recent study show the trend isn’t likely to change any time soon.
“A lot of (male) teachers leave the profession within five years, so we were trying to figure out what were some of the factors that cause . . . anxiety and trepidation, cause them to drop out of an education program or cause them to leave or stay in the profession,” said Douglas Gosse, associate professor of Nipissing University’s Schulich School of Education and principle researcher for The Professional Journey of Male Primary-Junior Teachers in Ontario.
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3) Men in Your Teacher Preparation Program: Five Strategies to Recruit and Retain Them
MenTeach: We’ve had more and more requests about how to recruit and retain men in education programs. Here’s an article we published. It starts: “Juan enrolled in his local university after serving in Afghanistan as a young Marine. As a veteran he qualified for a scholarship and began his studies as a business major. After a semester, Juan felt dissatisfied with his choice. Remembering how much he enjoyed coaching children in sports, Juan thought that perhaps teaching would be similarly rewarding. He decided to make the switch to education.
On the first day of classes at the school of education, he found himself in a sea of women, including his professors. He liked the program and learning more about children, but as one of only a few men in his classes, Juan felt isolated. Although the women were friendly, he often found himself feeling impatient with the way they discussed topics. Juan’s family and friends were supportive; however, they questioned his career choice of working with young children.” Download the article: /node/1395
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4) Dominica Teacher Wins Phenomenal Male Teacher Award
Irvin Jackson, a male teacher from the Pierre Charles Secondary School, has been awarded the first ever Phenomenal Male Teacher Award.
The award was presented at the Dominica Association of Teachers (DAT) 17th Annual General Meeting on Wednesday.
DAT, in collaboration with the Status of Women Committee (SOWC), introduced the award to highlight and encourage the male teachers in the teaching profession.
“We have very few male teachers in the service, hence, the need to encourage those in to stay and to attract more into the service,” chairperson of SOWC, Vania Martin, said. “When we look back at the Ministry of Education Excellence in Teaching Awards most of the awardees were female.” Read the article: /node/2162
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5) Schools attracting more male teachers in New Zealand
In a woman-dominated profession, man-power is strengthening at Timaru early childhood centres and primary schools.
And although the numbers are still small, Timaru schools are happy with the number of male teachers on their staff.
Garden Grove Montessori Preschool has one male teacher and licensee Christine Kirkeby said historic perception was what was turning away male teachers.
“Traditionally a female role, it would be really daunting for a male teacher. They would need to be really supported,” she said.
“They add a really cool perspective and richness to what we do.” Read the entire story: /node/2164
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6) Man dispels childcare myths
A young man who has set up his own business is out to dispel the myths surrounding men working in childcare.
John Eccles has established Toddle In at his Barrow home in Mosley Street, becoming only the second male childminder in the town.
The Ofsted-registered childminder was working on supply as a teaching assistant for Cumbria County Council, but was not getting as many hours as he wanted and decided to pursue his ambition of becoming his own boss.
The 25-year-old, who gained a foundation degree in Early Years at university, got his venture off the ground with financial support from the government’s New Enterprise Allowance. Read the article: /node/2166
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7) Report about men teaching in Florida classrooms
eople are usually surprised when Marcus Knox tells them what he wants to do when he graduates. The 20-year-old UF elementary education sophomore is studying to be a middle school teacher.
After graduation, Knox will join a handful of men pursuing a career in teaching young students.
According to a United States Bureau of Labor Statistics 2012 household data report, women make up about 81 percent of elementary and middle school teachers nationwide.
In Alachua County, men make up 15 percent of the elementary and middle school teaching population, said Jackie Johnson, spokeswoman for Alachua County Public Schools. Read the entire story: /node/2167
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8) Men in Childcare Half Day Briefing in London
Capita’s Men in Childcare half-day briefing event will cover ways in which the Early Years sector can work towards increasing the numbers of men working in the profession and working on encouraging the profession for men as well as showcasing some best practice working around male involvement. Read about the event: /node/2169
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9) Kids would benefit from more male teachers, experts say
Look around your child’s school and you likely won’t see a lot of male teachers, especially in elementary and middle schools. But research shows many kids would benefit from men in the classroom.
The number of men signed up to study education at the University of Utah this fall is about the same low number as it has been historically. A study by MenTeach — an organization whose mission is to increase the number of males working with young children — estimates only about 16 to 18 percent of elementary and middle school teachers nationwide are male. In Utah, state data from 2008-2009 showed just 11 percent of elementary teachers were male.
The director of the Urban Institute for Teacher Education at the University of Utah, Mary Burbank, said as the emphasis in public education shifts from nurturing and development to assessment, more men may enter the field. Read all the comments: /node/2171
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10) The Male Minority
The fifth grade students in Brad Ericksen’s class know what their teacher will be doing after school today. They can tell by his outfit — a navy blue shirt and khaki pants.
He’ll be working at Walmart.
“I work there to make ends meet,” says Ericksen, whose wife stays home with their three kids. The fifth-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School works between 20 and 25 hours a week at his second job on top of working at least 40 hours a week as a teacher. And he’s been doing this for more than two years.
“I’m not rich, but I’m happy,” said Ericksen, who is one of two male teachers at the school — a pretty typical setup in elementary schools around the state, nationwide and even internationally. In Utah, just 11 percent of elementary teachers are male, according to ’08-’09 data from the state. And the numbers are even bleaker for the earlier grades: Out of the 14 teachers in pre-K in the state in ’08-’09, none were male. Read the article: /node/2173
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