1) Are you an alien? Experiences of a male Primary School teacher
2) Low Number of Male Teachers Affects Youth
3) Seeking more male teachers in Barbados
4) Two articles about Men in Education: World Forum in Hawaii & NAEYC
5) Call for men to teach, become role models
6) Male Call: Recruiting More Men to Teach Elementary School
7) Jon Hamm (TV Actor) Talks About The Lack Of Positive Male Role Models
8) Male Educator Named State Teacher Of Year
9) Student Perspective: Benefits to being a man in a female-dominated teaching position
10) MenTeach – New England meets with Dr. Eli Newberger, MD
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1) Are you an alien? Experiences of a male Primary School teacher
“You’ll be on your knees by half term” a teacher told me today. I’m not sure if she meant exhausted or begging to keep my job. I seem to be in constant motion, if I wore regulation male teacher clothing I’d resemble a beige blur. I’ve developed a kind of speed walk, not fast enough so I could be accused of running in the corridor and setting a bad example, but a kind of lolloping quick step powered by my long, rangy legs. I’m beginning to suspect the teacher in the opposing classroom thinks I have a daily case of the runs. Read a new teacher’s blog postings: /node/1775
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2) Low Number of Male Teachers Affects Youth
Education experts say that a lower salary and stereotypes are to blame for a shortage of male teachers across the Piedmont Triad. Bill Budusky is a Pre-Kindergarten teacher at Hunter Elementary School in Greensboro. Watch the video. Budusky is one of only six male teachers out of 75. The father of two said having male teachers in schools is important because they serve as positive role models for boys. Watch the video and Read the rest of the article: /node/1776
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3) Seeking more male teachers in Barbados
There are just not enough male schoolteachers, says Captain Errol Brathwaite. And it won’t be the first time the utterance has been made by an educator. The new principal of Ellerslie Secondary School is understandably concerned about this insufficiency of male elders, and its negative effect on the rearing of our boys. More minds are coming around to the notion that male schoolteachers, especially at the primary level, are vital role models for boys. It has not been unknown of Barbadian men to boast that a male teacher had been the one they had sought to copy in their school and adult lives – their tutor having displayed exemplary characteristics outside the classwork context. Read the story: /node/1777
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4) Two articles about Men in Education: World Forum in Hawaii & NAEYC
An excerpt: “Children’s awareness of gender begins in early childhood. When most of their caregivers are female, young children may make stereotypic assumptions about male and female roles (Chodorow 1978; Johnson 2008). In many societies, traditional gender roles that define women as nurturers/care- givers and men as providers/disciplinarians have yielded to new social practices where women and men are expected to fulfill a full range of adult roles and responsibilities. As prominent features in com- munities worldwide, early childhood pro- grams represent an opportunity for social transformation toward gender equality in the youngest generation (Piburn 2006).” /node/1791
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5) Call for men to teach, become role models
They are the minority in every staff room but are highly in demand. Male teachers make up just one-fifth of the teaching population in Victorian state schools. In the Grampians region, there are 700 male teachers and 1328 female teachers in state schools. For the Catholic diocese of Ballarat, there are 934 female teachers and just 397 males. The State Government is calling for more male teachers in classrooms, with concerns that many boys are lacking male role models. Ballarat teacher Andy Lamond recently finished his degree and is now known as “Mr Lamond” to his Prep/Grade 1 class at St Columba’s Primary School. Read the article: /node/1781
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6) Male Call: Recruiting More Men to Teach Elementary School
Public schools are searching for a few good men — male teachers, that is. Kansas and Oregon boast the largest percentages of male teachers, at 33 percent and 31 percent, respectively. Mississippi and Arkansas have the lowest percentage, with males making up just under 18 percent of the teachers in those states. Research conducted by MenTeach, a nonprofit organization that promotes the recruitment of male teachers, suggests that low status and pay deter males from entering education. “If you started paying teachers $150,000 per year, you’d see a lot of guys going into the field,” admits Bryan Nelson, founder of MenTeach. Other key reasons behind the male-teacher shortage, according to MenTeach, is the stereotype that teaching is “women’s work,” as well as possible fears of lawsuits around accusations of sexual abuse of children. /node/1782
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7) Jon Hamm (TV Actor) Talks About The Lack Of Positive Male Role Models
Get ready to fall even more in love with Jon Hamm. Seriously. There are new levels of adoration for this man and we’re about to discover them together. Hamm was recently a speaker at the Rape Treatment Center benefit brunch in Beverly Hills where he spoke about his pre-Mad Men employment history — which we will refer to as phase one of your ever-deepening affection. Apparently, the man behind Don Draper is a former high school teacher and also worked at a daycare center. Hamm said he’s always felt very connected to children, which he attributes to being the child of a single parent –and thus spending “the majority of my life in daycare, after school programs, summer school programs,” which brings us to phase two. Read the entire article: /node/1784
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8) Male Educator Named State Teacher Of Year
Joshua Parker, a Baltimore County English and language arts teacher, was named the 2011-12 Maryland Teacher of the Year. The surprise announcement was made by Interim State Superintendent of Schools Bernard J. Sadusky during a gala at Martin’s West that included Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, among other dignitaries. Sadusky hailed Parker for his uncommon drive to see students succeed and his zeal when it comes to making sure world-class students were prepared. It is a passion Parker enjoys. “Looking back over my brief but expansive teaching career, I can’t help but smile,” Parker said.
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9) Student Perspective: Benefits to being a man in a female-dominated teaching position
Perhaps those who are surprised think it strange for a man to be going into teaching young children. That is valid, as there are not many male teachers. But the idea that men are not as suited for teaching as women is a cop-out. I find this notion similar to the expectation that female doctors are somehow inferior, despite going through all the same training that their male counterparts have seen. Even though both viewpoints are remarkably narrow-minded, they are shared, whether consciously or subconsciously, by many. Because this is a school where two of the most popular majors are elementary education and nursing, it’s certainly understandable that the ratio of women to men is in the neighborhood of 2 to 1. My issue, though, is that people have to say “male nurse” when describing someone. Read the story: /node/1787
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10) MenTeach – New England meets with Dr. Eli Newberger, MD
MenTeach New England met for our Fall meeting in early October 2011 at Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA. We shared stories and resources and everyone had a chance to participate. We were very lucky to have Eli Newberger, MD author and expert on boys development. He talked about his book: The Men They Will Become and shared the importance of men being teachers with young children. He stayed for two hour sharing his insights. Read the story and see the photos: /node/1788
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