MenTeach E-News
December 2020
1) Black man named Texas Teacher of the Year for first time: ‘I’m not the first to deserve it’
2) Number of male school teachers in Bolton [England] drops
3) Number of male teachers in England drops
4) Do we really need teachers to be male role models?
5) Alabama A&M incentivizes future male minority teachers with 2 years tuition
6) Anti-Racist Educators in Texas are Building a Movement. It’s Time for Our Colleagues to Get on Board
7) New Hiring Initiative Aims To Increase Presence Of Black Male Educators In Dallas, Texas
8) Lack of Black male teachers in Baton Rouge, LA can negatively affect Black male students
9) New Book: Exploring Career Trajectories of Men in the Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce
10) Editorial: Being a Father and A Teacher
ABOUT MenTeach
JOIN or DONATE to MenTeach
VOLUNTEER for MenTeach
Forward Our Message
To be Removed From the List
—————
1) Black man named Texas Teacher of the Year for first time: ‘I’m not the first to deserve it’
An elementary teacher is the first Black man to be named Texas Teacher of the Year.
“I’m the first to win it, but I’m not the first to deserve it,” Eric Hale told The Washington Post on Wednesday.
Eric Hale teaches first grade and kindergarten at David G. Burnet Elementary School in Dallas and was named the 2021 Texas Teacher of the Year in a virtual Zoom ceremony in September.
The title has been given to excellent educators within the state of Texas since 1969, according to the Texas Association of School Administrators.
“I am a teacher because I’m chasing the ghost of the educator I needed as a child,” Hale told the Post. “My mission is to make sure that children that are going through poverty and traumatic experiences get the hope they need.”
A DJ booth and gold accents decorate Hale’s classroom and he routinely creates and names songs after his students, according to the Post.
“His kids always outperform in academics, and the parents are always thankful,” Sonia Loskot, principal of David G. Burnet Elementary School, told the Post. “He tells the kids they are champions, and they really believe it.” Read the article: /node/3599
—————
2) Number of male school teachers in Bolton [England] drops
Of the 1,342 secondary school teachers in Bolton whose gender was listed in the School Workforce Census last year, 444 were male.
That meant men made up just 33 per cent of the workforce, compared with 38 per cent a decade earlier.
The proportion of male teachers across all of the area’s schools, including primary, nursery and special schools, was even lower, at 27 per cent.
Across England the proportion of male black and minority ethnic male teachers has risen to 17 per cent. Read the article: /node/3601
—————
3) Number of male teachers in England drops
igures in primary schools have stagnated over the last five years, and remain low, at 14.1 per cent.
The number of white men in secondary schools in England has fallen by over 12,800 since 2010, a fall of 17 per cent, according to analysis by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) think tank.
The figures follow a year-on-year decline in the proportion of men teaching in secondary schools since 2010, with figures hitting an all-time low in 2019, when just over a third (35.5 per cent) of teachers were male.
In spite of this decline, the proportion of BME male teachers has risen to 17 percent of the workforce – with a 114 per cent increase in primary schools and 34 per cent increase in secondary schools, since 2010. These figures are now representative of the population as a whole (16 per cent).
However, the overall fall in male teachers is driven by a significant decline in the proportion of white male teachers in every region in England, except for Inner London, which is likely caused by the public sector pay freezes, the report says.
Research shows that men’s decision to go into teaching tends to be more responsive to wages than females. Since 2010, teachers’ wages have fallen in real terms by 16 per cent.
Read the article: /node/3603
—————
4) Do we really need teachers to be male role models?
It’s been odd to hear so much concern at the news that the proportion of male teachers has fallen to its lowest-ever level.
The truth, of course, is that the vanishing male teacher should not worry anyone. Quite the reverse. Most of us are quite annoying in some way or another, and too many of us combine this with being at the wrong end of the useless spectrum – though not all, in fairness.
Frankly, we should instead be celebrating the news that the proportion of women in the profession has never been higher.
“But where are children going to get their male role models from?” seems to be the main worry. I have no idea what the phrase “male role model” even means. The thought that I might be expected to be one is terrifying indeed.
Teachers as male role models?
If there is such a thing as a “male role model” (and please forgive the subsequent stereotyping), then here are five good reasons why most male teachers are usually not up to the job. Read the article: /node/3606
—————
5) Alabama A&M incentivizes future male minority teachers with 2 years tuition
Diversity in the classroom matters. Alabama A&M is spending money to support that statement.
If you’re a man, identify as a minority race and want to be a teacher, you could get two years of your tuition paid for.
The program is called the Males for Alabama Education initiative. It’s all possible thanks to a grant from the state.
“Close your eyes and think about If you had a black male teacher or African American male teacher, and if the answer is no, that is not uncommon,” program director for the Males for Alabama initiative, Samantha Strachan said.
Two percent: that’s the amount of teachers in the U.S. who are African American males.
Keon Thomas is trying to change that. He’s one of nine minority men in the Males for Alabama program.
He says the inspiration came from his high school track coach.
“Having him talk to me and give me that kind of feedback on how it is to be a teacher, and seeing the impact he has on the community. And just that alone, I want to be able to have that impact on students,” Thomas said.
Thomas says learning about the opportunity came at a critical time.
Read the article and video: /node/3608
—————
6) Anti-Racist Educators in Texas are Building a Movement. It’s Time for Our Colleagues to Get on Board
I’ll never forget the moment when a fellow teacher, a white colleague I had worked with for years, got in my face and told me that I didn’t care about a Black male student. She did this in front of my entire class, in MY classroom.
I’ll never forget how powerless I felt in that moment, and the anger that followed.
These feelings came flooding back after George Floyd’s murder. As communities across the country come together to grieve and to protest, I feel my own rage more acutely than I had in years. Even though these protests are primarily directed toward reform in our police departments, they’re really about pushing back against the racist structures and mindsets that have plagued American culture for the past 400 years. Black people have had enough.
That’s why this past June I helped to organize the Educators March for Justice, where hundreds of educators from Austin marched to demand racial justice in our classrooms. The stories my colleagues shared were heartbreaking. One Black educator, the principal of his school, was thrown to the ground and handcuffed by police after they were called because a student was suspected of having a weapon. His only offense? Being a Black man. Read their story: /node/3609
—————
7) New Hiring Initiative Aims To Increase Presence Of Black Male Educators In Dallas, Texas
As part of an initiative aimed at recruiting teachers who represent the students they serve, Dallas ISD has hired 13 Black male professionals and put them on the path toward becoming licensed teachers who will lead classrooms next semester.
The Adjunct Teacher Dallas Residency Program is designed to recruit Black male teachers to serve in high-priority campuses.
“Evidence shows that Black students who have at least one Black educator in elementary school are more likely to graduate from high school, college and be career-ready,” said John Vega, deputy chief of Dallas ISD’s Human Capital Management (HCM). “Having someone who looks like you to teach you has a great impact on a student’s future success. We believe that the more teachers that we can get in front of our students that look like them, the more successful the students will be.”
The teacher residency program is in response to the resolution on the Commitment of Dallas ISD to Black Students and Black Lives. In a special called board meeting in June, the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to identify high-need issues and reconvene with Superintendent Michael Hinojosa within 30 days to begin to take actions to achieve measurable improvements for Black students in Dallas ISD over the next year. Read the story: /node/3611
—————
8) Lack of Black male teachers in Baton Rouge, LA can negatively affect Black male students
Anthony Felder walked into his freshman year at LSU with aspirations of becoming a pediatric physical therapist. But during that year, Felder had an epiphany.
“I realized the only reason I wanted to be a pediatric physical therapist was because I wanted to teach kids how to use their limbs again,” Felder said.
The opportunity to learn how to become an educator came later during his freshman year.
“I was struggling in an entry-level chemistry class, and I said that I would never take another chemistry class,” Felder said. “I switched my major to mathematics once I found out about LSU’s concentration rule.”
The chance to become an educator for the youth has a deeper meaning and motivation to Felder, though.
“I want to be an advocate for youth, especially youth of color,” Felder said. “I think it is important that not only every voice is heard, but also every opinion is considered. I think that education plays an enormous role in the development of that voice.”
Felder, a Black student at the University, believes his success is important to inspiring more Black male youths to become educators. Read the story: /node/3612
—————
9) New Book: Exploring Career Trajectories of Men in the Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce
he role of men in early childhood education and care is crucial for the future of all children growing up in a gender sensitive world. Achieving greater diversity and gender balance in the workforce has proved a challenging goal, despite concerted efforts on the part of individuals, institutions, and governments around the world. Many men remain reluctant to enter the profession, and once they choose this work many leave. This book explores how men in the field make their career decisions to remain in or leave the profession.
Taking a broad international perspective and exploring the role of gender in these career decisions, contributors from around the globe unpack how gender concepts influence men’s career trajectories. Through their collaborative research, the team of 17 gender and early childhood researchers investigate various critical and relevant factors such as professionalisation, workplace environment, leadership, day to day interactions in the workplace, societal considerations, internal motivations, agency, masculinities, and critical moments in career decision making. Using cultural, racial, ethnic, and social class lenses to examine men’s career decisions over their professional lives, the contributors’ unique approach uncovers the complexity of the issue and offers evidence-based recommendations for policy both on national and local levels. These include practical suggestions to directors and managers who care about achieving a gender-mixed workforce. Read the review: /node/3605
—————
10) Editorial: Being a Father and A Teacher
When I first started working with infants and toddlers the last thing I was thinking about was being a role model as a male teacher. All I was trying to do was just to survive every day without making too many unintentional mistakes. I did not like making mistakes and tended to avoid situations that displayed my incompetence at a particular teaching skill. I am fairly sure that my avoidance of these stressful situations was not necessarily a good strategy for exploring the positive influence I might have on others. Making mistakes is never fun but it is how you learn. I now am attempting to seek out challenging teaching options for the future in the hope that those experiences might help me to learn something new and become a better teacher, husband and father.
Being a male teacher in an age group that has traditionally had very little exposure to men was very challenging during my first couple of years. However, even during my most embarrassing moments as a volunteer and teaching assistant, I kept meeting people who kept telling me that I was a great role model for all the families I worked with. At first I was very uncomfortable with these strong opinions. I doubted that I was as influential as everyone thought. My experiences with my own daughter as her father and teacher have changed my opinion about everything. I am now much more comfortable with the responsibility that comes with being a male role model for others. Read the editorial: /node/3602
—————
ABOUT MenTEACH: This email Newsletter has been distributed by MenTeach – a clearinghouse with a mission to increase the percentage of men teaching.
Forward Our Message – be sure to forward this message to anyone you think might be interested in teaching children.
JOIN or DONATE to MenTeach today – support our mission to increase the number of men teachers. https://www.menteach.org/join_or_donate
VOLUNTEER for MenTeach – help make a difference by volunteering with MenTeach. We could use help moderating forums, posting articles that you find, updating the bibliography, hosting a group in your region, do some research about the percentages in your state, get involved and make some new friends. Drop us a line to let us know what you’d like to do.
E-LETTER POLICY FOR INCLUSION: MenTeach’s monthly e-letter includes news/resources/events that are relevant to those interested and supporting the education, support and care of children and families and who want qualified men teaching children.
To be Removed From the List
Go to this link and manage your account:
https://www.menteach.org/e-news/