MenTeach E-News
August 2017
1) Why young Latino men don’t think of becoming teachers
2) Chinese government offers free training to men who want to be preschool teachers
3) Male teacher shortage affects boys who need role models
4) A Scholarship for African American Men – Mwalimu Men
5) A New Orleans summer teaching fellowship is wooing young black teachers
6) Universities aim to increase Emirati interest in teaching programmes
7) AACTE Members, Partners Discuss Efforts to Bring Men of Color Into Teaching Profession on Radio Show
8) The different reasons men and women become teachers in Australia
9) Black Male Leaders Shape Black Students
10) Minister of Trinidad encourages men to become caregivers
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1) Why young Latino men don’t think of becoming teachers
San Marcos High School student Brayan Reyes never thought of teaching as a career. Why would he?
Until he was in Efron Solano’s class last semester, the 16-year-old had never even seen a male Latino teacher.
“He’s the one who motivated me,” Brayan said.
He’s not alone. National statistics show 87 percent of classroom teachers are Anglo women, and 7 percent are Latino. Of that 7 percent, only 2 percent are male.
Brayan has a different perspective on teaching today. In June, he was one of 11 students from six high schools who participated in the inaugural Encuentros Teacher Academy held at CSU San Marcos as a way of inspiring more Latino boys to go into teaching.
The students, who were from Fallbrook, Orange Glen, Sage Creek, San Marcos and Vista high schools, spent four days and nights at the university. While there, they met several male Latino educators, including some superintendents, who told them about their profession. Read the article: /node/3168
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2) Chinese government offers free training to men who want to be preschool teachers
Chongqing will fund the training of 77 male nursery teachers to address the gender imbalance in the municipality’s kindergartens.
According to a government notice released on April 21, the 77 candidates will receive five years of free training and be given a cash allowance during this period, news portal cqbntv.cn reported Wednesday.
According to the notice, these teachers will be required to work in the kindergartens to which they are assigned for at least six years after their training ends.
During their training, they will be forbidden from changing their majors.
The men will be chosen by the Chongqing Vocational College of Culture and Arts from among the city’s junior high school graduates, read the notice.
The 77 trainees will study a variety of courses at the college including physical training and computer skills. Read the article: /node/3170
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3) Male teacher shortage affects boys who need role models
For 35 years, Len Saunders has been teaching physical education to elementary school children in Montville, N.J. Personally, he knows how important a strong male role model can be and hopes he is that for his students. His own father died just months before he was born, so he depended on uncles, coaches and other men to guide him in certain areas of his physical and mental development. Without them, he thinks, his life would have taken a different path.
“Support from a male figure, it really contributes to their confidence level,” Saunders says of his students.
At Valley View Elementary School where he teaches, Saunders, 56, is one of very few men – he estimates just 5 percent of the staff. It’s a number he’d like to see change.
“A male role model figure is a key person in many of the boys’ lives, especially if this person is someone who listens, who’s a giving person and patient,” he says. “And there may be boys who might be afraid to ask a question to a female figure or may be more comfortable with specific questions geared for men.” Read the article: /node/3171
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4) A Scholarship for African American Men – Mwalimu Men
I’ve recently started a scholarship fund to help increase the African-American, male grad-school teaching population in the USA. The nonprofit is called Mwalimu Men Inc, and we will be giving out one $2,000 scholarship this year. I’m writing because I need help finding men who would be interested in applying. We’re accepting application from all Black men anywhere in the process to becoming an educator, not just high school seniors on their way to undergrad. If you know Black male teachers-to-be who could use this help, please encourage them to apply… Get the application: /node/3175
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5) A New Orleans summer teaching fellowship is wooing young black teachers
Yawns and sleepy stretches punctuated the silence as Brandon Mercadel’s third-graders rooted around their desks for “The Buried Bones Mystery,” the subject of today’s lesson about text evidence.
“You guys must have had an amazing Father’s Day weekend,” said Mercadel, smiling. “You are so tired!”
One student laid his head on his desk and slipped off his high-top sneakers, prompting another student to silently mouth “pew!” and clamp his fingers to his nose.
Mercadel smoothly switched tracks and lead the group of seven children in a rousing set of full-body stretches and jumping jacks.
“Okay, let’s try this again,” he resumed, his students back in their seats, books in hand. “Therese, it’s your turn to read. Remember: loud and proud.”
Mercadel is 22 and will be a senior at Xavier University of Louisiana this fall. This is his second summer teaching a six-week intensive camp called Summer Experience, a collaboration between Relay Graduate School of Education and New Orleans-based charter network, FirstLine Schools. Mercadel earns $2,250 for his work as a summer teaching fellow. In addition to providing a free, semi-academic camp for local children who attend FirstLine schools, the goal of the program, say its organizers, is to hook college students like Mercadel into a long and stable career in teaching. Read the article: /node/3176
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6) Universities aim to increase Emirati interest in teaching programmes
If recent enrolment data from two of the country’s two federal universities is any indication, Emirati men have very little to no interest in becoming schoolteachers.
Not one male student enrolled for Zayed University’s Bachelor of Science in Education programme last year, while just 11 signed up to study at the United Arab Emirates University’s College of Education.
Both universities are taking steps to increase the number of students — male and female — who register for their teaching programmes to help meet the country’s growing need for national educators.
“This is an international phenomenon, it is not limited to the UAE,” UAEU Vice Chancellor, Prof Mohamed Albaili, said of the challenges of recruiting male students for teaching degrees. “The government is aware of this issue, this challenge, and trying to accommodate and deal with this issue by providing male students opportunities and incentives to join education sector in general.” Read the article: /node/3183
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7) AACTE Members, Partners Discuss Efforts to Bring Men of Color Into Teaching Profession on Radio Show
This month’s episode of Education Talk Radio spotlighted AACTE’s national Black & Hispanic/Latino Male Teachers Initiative Networked Improvement Community (NIC) and other efforts to increase men of color in the teaching workforce. In the August 9 show, host Larry Jacobs interviewed Director of College Access and Completion Michael Dennehy of Boston University (MA), Director of Call Me MISTER Roy Jones of Clemson University (SC), Associate Professor Shatriya Collier-Stewart of California State University-Northridge, Executive Director Lemuel Watson of the Center for Innovation in Higher Education at the University of South Carolina, and Behavior Interventionist Ryan Jeffery at Fairfax County Public Schools (VA). Listen to the Radio Show: /node/3185
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8) The different reasons men and women become teachers in Australia
Kai Glennie didn’t enjoy any of his classes, had trouble making friends and dreaded going to school every morning.
But soon after he turned 10, he decided to spend the rest of his life in the classroom, as a teacher.
“School didn’t engage me at all and I struggled a lot until one particular teacher in year 5 changed my whole outlook,” said Mr Glennie, 20, who is in his second year of a primary education degree at the Australian Catholic University (ACU) in Sydney.
“Ms Jenkins gave everyone individual attention and made each student feel welcome. It made me want to give other kids the same experience I had.”
Talking to his favourite teachers in high school also pushed Mr Glennie towards the profession.
“A lot of my teachers have said how much of a rewarding experience it is seeing their students thrive and progress, and I’ve always seen how my teachers have helped me progress,” he said. Read the article: /node/3158
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9) Black Male Leaders Shape Black Students
As the country celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week, I’m grateful for the Black male educators in our low-income communities. They inspired me as a child and shaped my career path and they do the same for some many Milwaukee children. A recent study from Johns Hopkins University found the probability of a low-income Black male student dropping out of school is reduced by 39 percent if they have one Black teacher, and they are 29 percent more likely to consider college. I know this story well.
Mr. Eddie Jones, current assistant principal at Harold S. Vincent High School in Milwaukee, greatly influenced the course of my education and life. He was formerly a fifth grade teacher at my elementary school, Grantosa Drive Elementary School. Though Mr. Jones was never my teacher, he fostered a relationship with my family after teaching a few of my older siblings and he remains a part of our lives today. As maybe the only Black male teacher in the building, I looked up to him and he served as an early model of success and brilliance, demonstrating that a Black boy like myself could also go to college. Today, we need more teachers like Mr. Jones to do the same for the next generation of Black male students. Read his story: /node/3193
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10) Minister of Trinidad encourages men to become caregivers
Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister (Gender and Child Affairs) Ayanna Webster-Roy says men will be targeted for participation in the next cycle of the Caregivers Training Programme offered by the ministry.
She made the comment as 31 participants in the latest programme received their certificates during a closing ceremony at the International Waterfront Centre, Port-of-Spain, on Friday.
“Don’t our males want to be part of caring for our children? The Office of the Prime Minister, within the next phase of training, has made a concerted effort to target males across T&T?” she said.
“We understand that our children, especially our boys, need male role models. Studies have shown that children coming from homes where there are no male parents were more likely to abuse drugs, have their first sexual experience earlier and engage in criminal acts. Our men are just as crucial as our women in caring for our children.” Read the article: /node/3195
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