Tuesday, June 15, 2010
week 5 eureka moment
I am an Elementary Education Major at Rider and one thing caught my attention in the classes I have taken over the years. There were almost no male students. The only time I have had a class with a male student was in the first education class I took and that was because his major was in Middle School Education and we had not been separated yet. I always wondered why we do not see male teachers in the younger grades. Is it because society has deemed teaching younger kids as "women's work"? Or is it because men are simply not interested in teaching younger children in general? My opinion is that society has made Elementary Education a woman's territory. I think men see this profession as not manly enough for them. I have seen male gym teachers or male health teachers in the younger grades, however I have seen less than a handful of male teachers in Elementary Schools. It is interesting to me that society would not think anything of a male being a High School teacher, but there is a stigma attached to being an Elementary School teacher.
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Lauren, I am an Elementary Education major also. I have noticed the same thing; there were basically no male students in any of my education classes. I think I have had two or three male classmates total in all my three years. Most of the men are in Secondary Education or Middle School Education. Thinking back, I never had a male teacher until the seventh grade. Also, male teachers tend to teach subjects such as Science whereas female teachers tend to teach Language Arts. I too have wondered why there are not that many men in the Education field. I think that men are interested in teaching young children, but they are intimidated to enter into this field. Also, I think everyone is used to seeing a female as a teacher rather than a male. Moreover, I agree with you. Men probably do not see this profession as masculine. Also, I thought about the fact that male teachers are in high demand in elementary schools. A male teacher with the same qualifications as me may have a better chance at getting hired because more men are needed. This subject brings up a lot of unanswered questions.
ReplyDeleteYou are right there are not many men teachers in the school system. I remember I had only 1 male teacher in elementary and two in high school. We should have more men teaching our children. Men can understand why the boys behave in a certain ways. My 9 year old has a 4th grade man teacher. He is remarkable. I love this man. The boys that use to be labeled "trouble makers" in the third grade do not play with this man. He keeps those boys in check. As a result, the boys are better friends and better students. We are really shortchanging our kids with the lack of men teachers, but I do see more now than 20 years ago. I hope that means that stereotype of teaching not being a masculine job is fading.
ReplyDeleteHey Lauren!
ReplyDeleteI've worked in Education for nearly 20 years - I have seen a few male elementary teachers but not many. I think traditionally women are seen as more nurturing and caregiving - and having a classroom full of children is like raising 'multiples' to a degree - so I guess guys have stayed away from what has traditionally been a woman's domain with the little ones and taken a more active role with older kids (middle/high school). Maybe part of it is because guys typically aren't exposed to being around a lot of younger children - girls typically babysit for afterschool jobs, etc. Guys become more of a playmate when they have something in common with the child - usually around adolesence (can we say parallel play...). BUT, in defense of the teachers I have worked with - they were all wonderful at what they did! I think a guy who makes the decision to teach elementary school aged kids really WANTS to be there and they have something to prove too. They have to work twice as hard as a female teacher to be seen as a good teacher just because they are in a nontraditional job. Also, with all the accusations that make the newspaper about male teachers/female students - I think it's going to be harder and harder to get guys into teaching. Society automatically assumes if a girl makes an accusation that it has to be true and the male teacher (guilty or not) has to suffer and is guilty until proven innocent. Whereas for the two or three media cases of women teachers/male students - it was presumed that the guy was at fault and the woman was innocent - which we know now was not the truth (especially with the case of the teacher who has had several children at this point by a former student). I don't know what the answer is - the male teachers I've come into contact with on the elementary level deserve to be there so it tells me that there are a great number of other men out there that would make great teachers - but if I were a guy at this point - I might think twice about entering the profession or recognize that I may really feel I'm being judged - under a microscope so to speak - not just for my abilities teaching students, but for my implied morality as well.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteThe stigma is attached to a woman of having the natural loving quality. Society has created a stigma as elementary teacher are female and a male elementary teacher is seen as taboo by society standards. The demand for male teachers is high school maybe higher than in elementary school. I am a teacher assist and enjoy working with any grade level child. I have taken education classes and I am usually the only male in the class. I am usually place each year in a classroom that is mostly males. I agree society has the perception that the teaching profession is a woman field. I go to the NJEA teacher convention each year and the convention is gear towards women. The classes at the convention, relating to elementary education were mostly women. The teaching field needs more male teachers as role models in the classroom. There are little incentives by society for a man to become a teacher. A male teacher isn’t view by society as being successful, especial an elementary teacher. The perception of a male by the media is successful and powerful. A male school teacher is a contradiction to the image of male by culture and the media.
This is a really interesting observation i have wondered that myself. I am a communication major but growing up i went to the Jewish day school until 4th grade. All of my teachers were female except for the Rabbi who was a male. I guess i can understand why females are usually teachers for younger children because when kids are younger they have a harder time seperating from their parents when they first go to school. Most children struggle with leaving their mommies. By having female's as teachers it can make the transition easier. I do not think that has to be that way but i think society especially mothers feel more comfortable with their children male or female being taught by a female at least Pre k -1 St. Once i left for middle school and high school my teachers were mixed both male and female. I personally would not have a problem if my child was being taught with whatever gender. I do know that society has harsher ideas about this subject.
ReplyDelete