shortage of male teachers...

According to the NEA, the number of male teachers in the United States stands at a 40-year low. Recently I was interviewed for a magazine article to give my thoughts on the subject and I thought I would post my repsonses here. I would love to hear some of your coments on the topic:

According to the NEA, the number of male teachers in the United States stands at a 40-year low. What factors do you feel may have caused this?

I believe a big part of this is simply societal stereotypes. This profession was dominated by women for so long that it is a large hurtle to overcome. I am hoping that this stat is looking at percetages and not actual numbers. I would have to think that if you looked at the sheer numbers of male teachers today compared to 10 years ago, that there would be growth but maybe not at the same pace as the teaching profession as a whole.

But sadly, I think something that does keep males out of the profession is the idea that it is so easy for a male teacher to be accused of sexual misconduct with a student. All it takes is having one disgruntled female student who say maybe got a bad grade on a test or just wants to be mean and tells somebody that “Mr. [insert name here] was looking at me in a way that made me uncomfortable” or “he brushed up against me”. This can ruin somebody’s life. To be honest, this is why I will probably never teach high school because when the stakes are higher, like for GPA, some people can become really desperate. And being perfectly honest, this is also a key reason why I joined the union so that I have access to legal help and liability insurance incase I am falsely accused of something.

What are your thoughts on the dilemma of recruiting more male teachers?

I think the biggest thing that will recruit teachers – both females and male – is simply to market the profession better. The only real news about teaching is focusing on the negative – low pay, long hours, lawsuits, 50% leave within first 3 years, etc. I would recommend an organization like the NEA to invest in a nation-wide marketing campaign focusing on the POSITIVE side of teaching. There are an unbelievable amount of positive things to teaching that people just do not see. We simply do not know how to market our profession – ask yourself the question, when was the last time you saw a non-trade article that focused just on how great it is to be a teacher?

Is it important for students to have both male and female teachers? Why?

I think my students are definitely better off having a male teacher. It is very obvious those students for whom I am their first male teacher because they seem to be really caught off guard. But I think this is especially key for my male students to be able to have another positive adult male role model in their lives outside of their family (and this is just magnified for those that maybe do not have a father at home). I have seen many “wild” boys start to calm down after I have a “guy to guy” talk about what is appropriate and why what they are doing is wrong. But it is also nice because I can more easily address questions and issues from a male perspective like sexual harassment and even give “stinky boy” talks about the need for better hygiene *S*.

And I will say that since we still lean towards a patriarchal type of society, being a male teacher does have a few advantages like when things get a little loud in class, many time all I have to do is give that “fatherly” disapproval stare and things tend to settle down pretty quick.

What obstacles, if any, do you face as a male teacher? Are you treated any differently by students or administration from female teachers?

As I mentioned before, a big problem with being a male teacher is the constant fear of being falsely accused of inappropriate actions. Whereas every teacher must be aware of this issue, I have to think about it every day and make a conscious effort to analyze every student interaction I have. What hurts the most is that when a student is having a really bad day and maybe just needs a hug, there is no way I can do that. I feel that I cannot even lay an understanding hand on a shoulder without wondering how somebody else may perceive it. And if a female student needs some extra help after school, I have to go out of my way to let another female teacher know that that student is with me, I then need to keep the door to the room open and if at all possible help her right at the door so that anybody who walks by can see exactly what is happening – or more appropriately, what is NOT happening.

Another obstacle is that I cannot enforce some rules such as dress code. Many of our girls wear low-cut clothing or things that just show too much skin and there is no way that I can even let them know that they are violating dress code without being accused of “why were you even looking there?” Whenever I see it, I must discretely go to a female teacher and have her deal with it.

I am very happy to say that I have never been treated negatively or different from anybody based on me being a male. Even though there are only 5 male teachers on campus (3 classroom teachers, one PE coach and one band teacher) it has never been an issue and I have never felt awkward or out of place.

How much of an effect do you feel society’s views about gender roles has on men choosing teaching as a profession? For example, women are viewed as nurturers and teaching is seen as a nurturing occupation.

I really do not see it so much as gender roles (nurturer vs. discipliner) as just a prevalent trend that will take time to overcome. I look at the low but growing number of males in the teaching profession the same way as the low but growing number of females in engineering, governmental and legal fields. These jobs have just been so overwhelmingly dominated by one gender for so long that it is going to take a lot of time to equal them out. And the percentages may be at all time low but again I think that is mostly do to the large growth in the overall number of teachers.

The average teaching salary in Arizona is $28,915. How much of an effect do you think this has on men choosing to become teachers, if any?

There is no doubt whatsoever that the pay is a HUGE issue that keeps most people – both male and female – away from the teaching profession. At this pay, it is VERY difficult for the “bread winner” of any household to survive again, regardless of the sex. I had to give A LOT of thought to becoming a teacher considering my starting pay as a teacher was roughly 1/3 what I made in the corporate world.

The impact this can have on young families is pretty dramatic. For a couple who is looking to start a family, it is very difficult for the husband to take on teaching as a profession if the wife is planning on staying home to have and raise children if the teaching salary is the sole means of financial support. But increasingly more and more women are becoming the "bread winner" of families and hopefully this will allow more males to decide to become teachers.

But something that I did not include in this interview is that I believe if word also got out in how (relatively) easy it was to getting your teaching certificate, there would be more second career teachers like myself. It took me a year and half of going through online classes at Rio Salado Community College to obtain my post-baccalaureate certificate and that is with taking additional science course to make me highly qualified to teach general science. And the great thing is that it only cost me roughly $1800.

I have to believe that there are A LOT of males out there right now who would make great teachers and who are frustrated with their current careers. We just need to get the word out that the education world needs them!

I would REALLY appreciate any and all comments on this subject...let me know what it is like on your campus.