MenTeach E-News
October 2017
1) First experience important to new kindergarten teacher in 1977
2) 2nd Annual NorCal – Men and Child Care Conference “Advocacy to Action”
3) Wayne State University’s Morris Hood Scholars Program making inroads
4) Student Looking for a Speaker to Visit His Student Club
5) There’s a Stigma Around Men Teaching Young Kids. Here’s How We Change It
6) Letter: My time as a male educator
7) Black male teachers are vital
8) Male teachers in Viet Nam stay the course on a difficult road
9) Thoughts from the 2014 Inaugural Northern California Men & Child Care Conference
10) Editorial: Men – Adopt a School
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1) First experience important to new kindergarten teacher in 1977
It’s elementary, my dear
Gene Hanson was the new kindergarten teacher at Onamia Elementary, circa 1977.
There’s a new kindergarten teacher at Onamia Elementary. His name is Gene Hanson, and he’s very enthused about his new job.
Gene spent the last year teaching on the Mexican-Texas border. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education with a Kindergarten Certificate From St. Cloud University in 1976. Gene student-taught kindergarten in inter-city Minneapolis with a 63-year-old gentleman. “He’s the one who got me interested in kindergarten,” Gene said.
“It’s usually the first experience a child has with school. It sets the foundation for their thinking skills and their social skills. If they have a bad experience in kindergarten, it may take them several years to make up for it.” Read the article: /node/3224
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2) 2nd Annual Northern California – Men and Child Care Conference “Advocacy to Action”
October 21, 2017
8:00am – 3:00pm
Pacific Oaks – San Jose Campus
Watch for a report: /node/3227
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3) Wayne State University’s Morris Hood Scholars Program making inroads
By 2024 students of color are expected to make up 56 percent of the student population but when you look in front of the classroom the majority – 82 percent – of the teachers and principals are white.
However, a program at Wayne State University is on a mission to change that picture.
No matter who you talk to the conclusion is the same, diversity in the classroom is a benefit to all students, especially when it comes to crushing negative stereotypes.
For instance, take a look at any prison, one in nine of the inmates is a black man. But when you’re talking education, only 2 percent of public school teachers are black males.
I asked one student how many African American male teachers he’d had in the classroom. He answered only one. Read the article: /node/3201
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4) Student Looking for a Speaker to Visit His Student Club
Hello, My name is Justin Buntemeyer.
I’m currently attending Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, WA. I’m pursuing a masters degree in education with a goal of being an elementary school teacher one day.
At my school we have a club called The Teachers of Tomorrow Club. In it, we talk about local, state, national, and even international education topics. I am currently the leader of this club. Being a future teacher myself, I’ve looked into your organization several times and I love your research and what you stand for. Being a leader I am in charge of coming up with topics for the meetings. I would very much love it if your group would be able to come and talk with us during a meeting and give myself and the rest of the group more information about male teachers. Read the entire letter: /node/3229
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5) There’s a Stigma Around Men Teaching Young Kids. Here’s How We Change It
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as I dressed in khaki pants and a polo shirt and prepared to attend my first day of orientation as a pre-K teacher of 3- and 4-year-olds. I walked through the school doors for the first time, taken aback by the miniature size of the furniture I saw as I peeked into an empty classroom. I wasn’t the only one in for a surprise. When I arrived, a female colleague greeted me by exclaiming, “Wow, you’re a man!” This puzzled reaction was one I would receive often during my four years of teaching young children. Read the article: /node/3230
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6) Letter: My time as a male educator
Recently, The Daily Republic listed Bobby Reindl as one of two current Longfellow male elementary teachers. The pie graph showed that there are four other lower-level men in the district.
Males breaking into the female elementary instructors’ domain has been going on in Mitchell for quite some time – 67 years in fact. I was the unknowing pioneer the summer of 1950 when Superintendent Lloyd Uecker hired me to teacher Longfellow sixth grade. I can remember most of those 28 students.
I was a 21-year-old college graduate. Principal Ardith Van Tassel had recently replaced Gertie Belle Rogers, who had become curriculum supervisor for the four elementary buildings. Joe Quintal was not only high school head football and basketball coach, but elementary PE instructor also. What he lacked in height, he compensated with a commanding bark heard in nearby classrooms.
Read the letter: /node/3232
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7) Black male teachers are vital
African-American boys make up a significant percentage of Detroit Public Schools Community District’s student enrollment but large numbers of them aren’t taught by black men.
Does that fact deny them the opportunity to be academically successful?
Not necessarily but a recent study suggests that when black men teach black boys the student has a greater opportunity to be successful.
Consider this:
Low-income black students who have at least one black teacher in elementary school are significantly more likely to graduate high school and consider attending college, according to a study published earlier this year by the Institute of Labor Economics. Having at least one black teacher in third through fifth grades, study findings suggest reduced a black student’s probability of dropping out of school by 29 percent. For very low-income black boys, the results are even greater. Their chance of dropping out fell 39 percent. Read the article: /node/3234
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8) Male teachers in Viet Nam stay the course on a difficult road
Since its establishment in 1982, no female teacher has worked at a primary school in the central province of Nghệ An because the working conditions are very difficult. The dedication of male teachers saves the day, Minh Đức reports.
The Tri Lễ 4 Primary School is an educational institution like no other in the country.
Thirty-five years since its establishment in the central province of Nghệ An, it does not have single female teacher. To say that this is highly unusual, especially for a primary school in a rural area, would be an understatement.
But the reason is very simple. The conditions are too difficult for women to manage.
Located in Tri Lễ Commune, the school has 44 male teachers aged 24 to 60, who take turns teaching classes in six villages. The village schools, are located near the residential areas of locals, mainly members of Mông ethnic group. Read the article: /node/3240
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9) Thoughts from the 2014 Inaugural Northern California Men & Child Care Conference
Close to 100 people were on hand at American River College for the Inaugural Northern California Men and Child Care (NorCal MaCC) Conference on Saturday, October 22nd. Inspired by a Men in Early Education Conference hosted by Redwood Empire Association for the Education of Young Children (Redwood Empire AEYC) in 2014 – the NorCal MaCC Conference was brought together by a broad collaboration that included American River College, Sacramento Valley AEYC, Redwood Empire AEYC, Peninsula AEYC, East Bay AEYC, the National Human Development Foundation, the Institute for the Study of Music Making Behavior, Californians for Quality Early Learning (CQEL), the Early Education Action League, and the DAD Project. Additional support for the conference came from Pacific Oaks College and Lakeshore Learning.
Dr. Paul Morehouse warmed the group up with a musical jam session – a tradition since the first men and child care workshop offered by Sacramento Valley AEYC on a rainy day nearly two years ago. Dr. Steven Boyd, the Dean Health and Education at American River College welcomed the attendees with warmth and encouragement. We also held a brief moment of silence in memory of two strong advocates for men in child care, Bev Bos and Allyson Kurtz. Read the article: /node/3244
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10) Editorial: Men – Adopt a School
I am a junior at UW-Stout and I am from Plum City, Wisconsin. Plum City is a small town southwest of Menomonie and has less than 600 residents. I have two siblings; an older brother who is a Physical Education teacher and a sister who is in her senior year at UW-La Crosse. I am in the early childhood program (ECE) because I am drawn to teaching and love to work with children and watch them grow. So far, my experience of being one of just a few males in the ECE program has been interesting because of the few number of males in my classes. I am usually only one of maybe two men in classes that appear to be aimed more towards the females. This could be due in part to the three female faculty members in ECE and no male faculty or instructors. Read the editorial: /node/3218
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