Posts Tagged ‘Male Teachers’

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What Polar Bears and Male Teachers Have in Common

January 3, 2020

It seems like I have a fair bit in common with polar bears and the Vaquita porpoise. According to some commentators, male teachers are an endangered species on the verge of extinction:

 

So how does Australia go about attracting men back into the classroom?

Kevin McGrath is the researcher behind Australia’s first longitudinal study of teacher numbers. He has also crunched the national workplace data on the gender and leadership positions in schools.

His studies have found schools are set to run out of male principals in the next 20 years and the male teacher will be extinct in the next 40 years.

Some argue that’s a good thing, given the struggle women face in the workforce, domination in one occupation can be considered a triumph.

 

Whilst I maintain that quality teachers should be the aim, I find the reaction to the lack of male teachers quite bewildering.

One of the biggest myths in education is that the lack of male teachers is being addressed.

This is pure rubbish.

Can anyone name me a strategy or policy that seeks to promote or incentivise the career to men?

You can’t? Of course not. None exists!

Interestingly, whenever a female gender gap in representation exists, such as in STEM courses at the university level, scholarships programs have been instituted in the name of diversity.

But here’s the thing.

It is ILLEGAL for universities to give scholarships to men in areas where they are underrepresented! That’s right, illegal!

How is that fair? How is that not sexist?

I’m proud to be doing my part for the endangered species that are male teachers. I aim to continue until my own work-life extinction.

 

Michael Grossman is the author of the hilarious new children’s book, My Favourite Comedian. You can buy a copy by clicking on this link.

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Why We Don’t Desperately Need More Male Teachers

November 24, 2019

 

There isn’t all that many male teachers operating at the Primary school level. Some think this a great shame and point to all the impressionable boys without male role-models.

It is true that there are a growing number of boys without male role-models. I don’t see this as merely an educational problem, but rather a societal problem. As a society, we have the responsibility for ensuring that fathers lift their game and take more responsibility for the raising of their own children.

As for teachers, I don’t want a male teacher to teach my son, I want a great teacher to teach him. An effective teacher is clearly a better result for any boy than merely a male teacher.

And the truth is that men do not seem to be attracted to teaching, especially at Primary level. Some say that the Government should incentivise men to take up teaching. I think this is a big mistake and amounts to a form of sexism. Firstly, you want your teachers to want to teach. This is an idealistic profession. Teachers choose to be educators for reasons other than money. I don’t think the result of men suddenly signing up only due to the extra incentives offered is good for developing quality in the profession. Worst still, that man is likely to take the spot of an idealistic female, who might desperately want to be a teacher. Do we really want to go down the path yet again of selecting men over women for gender reasons alone?

I am all for promoting the wonders of teaching to men. I am very much against offering incentives and Uni places to men over women for no reason other than their chromosomes.

 

Michael Grossman is the author of the children’s book, My Favourite Comedian. You can buy a copy by clicking on this link.

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How Education is Sexist Against Men

January 11, 2018

One of the biggest myths in education is that the lack of male teachers is being addressed.

This is pure rubbish.

Can anyone name me a strategy or policy that seeks to promote or incentivise the career to men?

You can’t? Of course not. None exists!

And for all the talk that there is concern about the lack of male teachers, the numbers tell a totally different story. Statistics clearly show a mark decrease in representation.

Between 1977 and 2016 we see a drop in male representation from 28.5 per cent to 18 per cent in primary schools and from 54 per cent to 40 per cent in high schools, Australia-wide.

Whenever a female gender gap in representation exists, such as in STEM courses at university level, scholarships programs have been instituted in the name of diversity.

But here’s the thing.

It is ILLEGAL for universities to give scholarships to men in areas where they are underrepresented! That’s right, illegal!

How is that fair? How is that not sexist?

Statistics indicate that the disparity will get worse. And who could be surprised.

Nobody seems to care!

 

 

Click on the link to read The Normalisation of the Stigma Against Male Teachers

Click on the link to read And You Say You Want Male Teachers!

Click on the link to read A Male Teacher Drought or a Great Teacher Drought?

Click on the link to read Double Standards on Gender When it Comes to Teaching

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The Normalisation of the Stigma Against Male Teachers

February 28, 2017

kasey_edwards

Below is a very destructive article against male teachers. Although not directly mentioning male teachers, the implications are obvious.

Parents are allowed to have their opinions about men’s ability to supervise and care for children, even though I contend that men make very good teachers and caregivers. What irks me is that this ridiculous and damaging article was published in the mainstream media, thus becoming yet another example of the growing normalisation of the stigma affecting men in teaching and care giving roles.

I implore the meainstream media to resist publishing this type of destructive drivel.

 

When our first daughter was born my husband and I made a family rule: no man would ever babysit our children. No exceptions. This includes male relatives and friends and even extra-curricular and holiday programs …

No one told her she’s off the planet? Or maybe they just quietly thought it, given how few sleepovers her friends have agreed to:

When my daughter goes on play dates I make sure that she will be supervised by a woman at all times. So far she has only slept at one friend’s house. Beforehand I spoke to my friend about our rule and clarified that if she’s going to pop out to shops for example and intends to leave our daughter in the care of her husband or another man then the sleepover cannot happen…

As you can imagine, this was not an easy conversation to have.

 

Click on the link to read And You Say You Want Male Teachers!

Click on the link to read A Male Teacher Drought or a Great Teacher Drought?

Click on the link to read Double Standards on Gender When it Comes to Teaching

Click on the link to read Sexism and Schools

 

 

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And You Say You Want Male Teachers!

July 14, 2016

male-teacher-discrimination

 

I’ve heard it all before.

“Where are all the male teachers?”

“If there were only more male teachers!”

“What these children need are positive male rolemodels.”

Don’t listen to them men. The reality does not fit the theory that male teachers would be welcomed into the profession with open arms. In fact, it’s worse than that. There is a prevailing stigma that our intentions are not the same, that our conduct isn’t as righteous and it is much harder for a male to gain the trust a female teacher gets.

I am not playing the victim here. I don’t want sympathy. I’m just advising any prospective male teachers to watch out.

Take this news article about male teachers below the age of 50 being purposely overlooked for teaching jobs in an all girls school. How are we supposed to react to this? And don’t argue that this is an isolated case. No, on the contrary, this kind of thing does happen all over the world.

 

Under the new policy, unveiled on July 13, teachers below the age of 50 (as on June 30, 2016) will not be eligible for transfer to any government secondary school for girls. The policy is applicable with effect from the academic session 2016-17.

Ram Bilas Sharma, the education minister of Haryana, has said teachers are to submit their choice of schools online for transfer from this academic session onwards. “Any teacher who has not completed 50 years as on June 30, should not opt for girls’ school. Even if any teacher opts for it, he would not be considered for transfer,” he said.

 

Click on the link to read A Male Teacher Drought or a Great Teacher Drought?

Click on the link to read Double Standards on Gender When it Comes to Teaching

Click on the link to read Sexism and Schools

Click on the link to read I Would be Happy to Have CCTV Cameras in My Classroom

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A Male Teacher Drought or a Great Teacher Drought?

August 19, 2015

male-teacher-boys

As a male teacher I don’t buy into the theory that boys are suffering due to the lack of male teachers. Great teachers, whether they be male or female is what our children really need. Gender only really comes into the equation when comparing teachers of equal value. I would argue that if there were more great teachers out there, there would be less of an urge to fix the gender imbalance in teaching:

 

THERE’S plenty to be said for life as a primary school teacher: a decent starting salary, quick career progression, enviable working conditions and more leave than you can shake the proverbial stick at.

Add to that the low barrier to entry, with teaching degrees having among the lowest Australian Tertiary Admission Rank scores, and you’d think there’d be no shortage of candidates lining up to educate our offspring. But for a variety of reasons, men are shunning the opportunity to become teachers, and that could have dire consequences for boys.

If you have primary school-aged children then you’re acutely aware of just how few male teachers are in the system. Latest figures show that eight out of 10 teachers in primary schools are female.

The shortage of male teachers has many worried about the impact on boys, particularly those lacking male role models within the family unit. Some boys can go through their entire primary school years without having a male teacher.

That’s a problem in a country with about 1 million one-parent families, the vast majority of whom are single-mother families.

It shouldn’t be up to the education system to provide positive male role models for children but the reality is that many boys lack male authority figures in their lives and would benefit greatly from having male teachers.
Click on the link to read Double Standards on Gender When it Comes to Teaching

Click on the link to read Sexism and Schools

Click on the link to read I Would be Happy to Have CCTV Cameras in My Classroom

Click on the link to read Should Classrooms Be Fitted With Surveillance Cameras?

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Sexism and Schools

October 15, 2013

lolly

For all the persecution, bullying and inappropriate workplace demeanor handed out to women for no other reason than their gender. For all the glass ceilings and boys clubs, it figures that there would be one sanctuary, one workplace, where women were treated with more respect than men. It just so happens that the place where the sexism tables are turned is in my very line of work.

A crossing guard is forced to walk away from his profession for no other reason than he high-fived children. Of course the council saw that as inappropriate but didn’t want to say what they really felt, and instead used the “safety concern” excuse. We all know that the council was less worried about safety and more worried about a grown man high-fiving children.

Which leads me to the following question: What if it had been a woman crossing guard who high-fived kids? Still a safety concern? I think not.

I feel sorry for the crossing guard and completely understand why he walked away from his job. To stop high-fiving would be giving tacit approval to the subtext of his allegations.  And whilst I don’t think male teachers or crossing guards should be high-fiving students, I sympathise with the clear double standards that are in play. The same double standards that sees female teachers often hug students and have them on their lap. The same double standards that gives female teachers lesser sentences for the same heinous crimes as their male counterparts.

But at the end of the day, whether you’re a crossing guard or a teacher, what’s more important than equality is the rights of children. I may be in the only field of work where men get treated worse than women, but that’s OK with me, because those kids deserve the very best of care regardless of who is put out or discriminated against.

Click on the link to read I Would be Happy to Have CCTV Cameras in My Classroom

Click on the link to read Should Classrooms Be Fitted With Surveillance Cameras?

Click on the link to read Schools Putting Spy Cameras in Toilets and Change Rooms

Click on the link to read Two-Year Olds Forced to Have Fingerprints and Mug Shots Taken

Click on the link to read Male Teachers Beware!

Click on the link to read Are Male Teachers Subject to Sexual Discrimination?

Click on the link to read The absence of male teachers in public schools

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The PC Police and its Implications for Male Teachers

May 13, 2013

bernie

This is a classic example why male teachers must be extremely careful to act above and beyond the professional standards adhered to by their female colleagues.

Do you honestly think that if a female crossing guard was ‘high-fiving’ children anyone would even blink an eye?

A LOLLIPOP man has been banned from giving high-fives to children as they cross the road because it’s “too dangerous”, according to the health and safety police.

Bernie Robertson – who has stopped traffic to keep young pupils safe outside Mount Annan Public School in Sydney’s southwest for 13 years – has been cautioned after a review of guidelines by Roads and Maritime Services.

Parents with children at the school have launched a furious revolt, starting a Facebook page “Support for Bernie our crossing man”, which has received more than 870 likes and an online petition with 250 signatures.

Mr Robertson said he was overwhelmed by the response from the community. “Of course I’m very pleased with the support, with what the parents have done,” he said.

Rachael Sowden, from the Parents and Citizens Association of NSW, said the issue was an example of political correctness “gone mad”.

 “We don’t believe high-fiving little children is an inappropriate thing,” she said.

“Sometimes people take things a little bit too far and this sounds like one of those incidents. While there’s no concern for their wellbeing it does seem a little bit like PC gone mad.”

 

Click on the link to read I Would be Happy to Have CCTV Cameras in My Classroom

Click on the link to read Should Classrooms Be Fitted With Surveillance Cameras?

Click on the link to read Schools Putting Spy Cameras in Toilets and Change Rooms

Click on the link to read Two-Year Olds Forced to Have Fingerprints and Mug Shots Taken

Click on the link to read Male Teachers Beware!

Click on the link to read Are Male Teachers Subject to Sexual Discrimination?

Click on the link to read The absence of male teachers in public schools

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Posted in Male Teachers, Political Correctness | 2 Comments »

Male Teachers Beware!

August 10, 2012

 

What message does this send to male teachers?

Virgin Australia has been accused of treating male passengers like paedophiles after it made a man swap seats because he was beside two unaccompanied minors.

The company has defended the policy as in the interests of children.

Sydney fireman Johnny McGirr, 33, said he was flying home from Brisbane in April when he took his seat next to two boys he estimated to be between 8 and 10 years old.

He was assigned the window seat but sat in the aisle seat so the two boys could look out the window.

However, a flight attendant approached him just as passengers were asked to put on their seatbelts, asking him to move.

Mr McGirr said when he asked why, he was told, “Well you can’t sit next to two unaccompanied minors.”

“She said it was the policy and I said, ‘Well, that’s pretty sexist and discriminatory. You can’t just say because I’m a man I can’t sit there,’ and she just apologised and said that was the policy.

“By this stage everyone around me had started looking.”

Mr McGirr said the attendant then asked a fellow female passenger, “Can you please sit in this seat because he is not allowed to sit next to minors.”

“After that I got really embarrassed because she didn’t even explain. I just got up and shook my head a little, trying to get some dignity out of the situation,” he said.

Click here to read my post about the absence of male teachers in public schools

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Are Male Teachers Subject to Sexual Discrimination?

June 30, 2012

I believe that it is very hard for male teachers to get a job in the public system. Often public schools are female dominated, to the point where a token male would have some effect on the staff-room dynamic. I feel that it was a major factor in my inability to secure a job in the public school system. As I recounted in an earlier post:

I applied for 30 Public School positions over the summer and none of these possibilities turned into a job offer. Nobody in the State system was prepared to take me on. Sitting in the job interview, I couldn’t help but wonder whether I was leapfrogged because of my gender. I know it seems rich for a male to cry sexism, but the selection panel was nearly always all female and on walking around schools, I noticed that nearly all the teachers were female. In the name of a close-knit staff dynamic, it wouldn’t have been such an easy proposition to disturb the status quo and invite a male into the staff room inner sanctum.

But while males might be discriminated in the public system, I have it on good authority from people high up in other private schools, that males are preferred over females in the private system because they don’t go on maternity leave. So it goes both ways.

Still, after all women went through (and to some extent still do) when it comes to being overlooked for jobs, you can understand why it doesn’t feel right to have a male shouting sexual discrimination:

A MALE primary school teacher has alleged he was the victim of sex discrimination after losing out on a job to a young woman.

Glenn Telfer claims he was the top candidate for a permanent post at an Edinburgh primary after doing the job for several months and earning plaudits from parents and his boss.

But the 55-year-old ended up out of work after the job went to Louise Hunter, 25.

Mr Telfer is taking Edinburgh City Council to an employment tribunal claiming sex and age discrimination.

Click here to read my post about the absence of male teachers in public schools.

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