Posts Tagged ‘Male Teachers’

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Students Should not be Prosecuted for False Allegations

April 10, 2012

Those of you who follow my blog know how concerned I am about the threat of false allegations against teachers. Data has shown that it is one of the major factors for driving potential male teachers away from the profession. I have a friend who was accused of innapropriate touching by a child for doing nothing more than guiding the child’s hand in a handwriting exercise. She did nothing more than help the child hold the pencil correctly and it landed her in hot water, until the child recanted on his original claim.

But as much as I abhor false accusations, I am aware that the role of the teacher is to put the welfare of the child over their own. If students were prosecuted for false claims, it would have dire consequences for the wellbeing of the student population. The threat of prosecution would ultimately deter students from speaking up against teachers who have genuinely molested them. It is already difficult for victims of sexual assault to speak out and name their perpetrators, lets not put any stumbling block that may keep them quiet.

Still, it seems as though I am in the minority of teachers on this one:

Pupils should be routinely reported to the police after making unfounded claims simply to get their own back on teachers, it was claimed.

The NASUWT union said lying schoolchildren “must understand there is a consequence” to making allegations that are “unjust and malicious”.

The comments came as new figures showed the vast majority of claims made against teachers were unsubstantiated.

Data from the NASUWT shows that fewer than one-in-20 allegations of unlawful behaviour made against teachers last year – including assault, sexual abuse and serious threats – resulted in court action.

Addressing the union’s annual conference in Birmingham, activists insisted that pupils who make false claims should be prosecuted.

Ian Brown, a teacher from North East Derbyshire, said: “Schools must have procedures in place where, when allegations are made, the pupil is made aware at the earliest point of the investigation, through their parents if necessary, that if they wish to proceed with the allegation and are found to be lying, then they will face sanctions.

“They must understand there is a consequence in making those allegations if they are found to be unjust, lies and malicious.”

According to figures from the NASUWT, most allegations made against teachers last year failed to result in court action.

Some 103 claims were made, with no further action being taken in 60. Some 39 are yet to be concluded, although the union claim the vast majority are unlikely to ever make it to court.

Just because most claims against teachers fail to lead to conviction doesn’t mean they were erroneous. Protecting the welfare of children is tantamount, even when it comes to the expense of teachers.

As much as I would like to see children punished for any salacious lie, I desperately don’t want any prohibitive regulation that would deter genuine victims from seeking justice from their perpetrator.

 

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Posted in Male Teachers | 4 Comments »

The Absence of Male Teachers in Public Schools

April 5, 2012

I always wanted to teach at a public school. I liked the idea of trying to help students from low-income families.

During my University training I worked at one such school. I witnessed some very heartbreaking stories. One child had just lost her father (he was shot during a botched drug deal), whilst another was forced to live with her grandparents while her parents underwent drug rehabilitation. While I realise none of this is new, it was extremely fulfilling for me to provide good humour and a helping hand to those that have had to endure a great deal of hardships.

But there was one problem with this dream of mine – nobody would give me a job!

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.

Instead, I took up a Private school position (for a lot less pay).

That’s why I am not surprised to read that male teachers are more likely to be working in the Private school system:

AUSTRALIA’S public schools are in the grip of a man drought.

But it’s raining men in the non-government sector, where the number of male teachers has grown 25 per cent since 2001.

At the same time, the number of male teachers has dropped 2 per cent at the nation’s public schools, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures reveal.

Schools have struggled to attract male teachers to the female-dominated profession.

Teachers can earn more money in the non-government sector but there can also be more demands outside school hours, such as Saturday sport.

The New South Wales Department of Education and Communities said the national trend was reflected at the state’s schools but they also had a very low resignation rate.

Last year there were 15,274 male teachers at public schools, representing about 27 per cent of teaching staff.

In 2001, male teachers made up about 31 per cent. There were 9734 male teachers in the non-government sector – about 30 per cent of the teaching workforce. In 2001, male teachers represented 23 per cent.

A department spokesman said strategies were in place to recruit more male teachers but quality was more important than gender.

I agree that quality is more important than gender. However, I’m not sure how well we measure quality teachers in the first place.

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Facebook and Teachers: How Evil Predators are Ruining it For the Rest of Us

January 25, 2012

It sickens me to read about teachers misusing their privileges and being accused of engaging in inappropriate dealings with students. Similarly, it upsets me no end that these horrendous people end up making life even harder for well-meaning, caring and decent teachers.

Male teachers will be completely aware with what I am saying. It is hard to be a male teacher (especially Primary teacher) in an age where there are daily stories doing the rounds about teacher sexual abuse. We have to be careful to the point of obsession. Whilst female teachers wouldn’t hesitate to talk to a student alone behind closed doors, a male teacher cannot afford to. Whilst female teachers cuddle and get kids to sit on their laps without the slightest of hesitation, male teachers wouldn’t even extend their hand for a handshake. I am not trying to complain about this. In fact, I am a big advocate of these rules. It’s the fear of being falsely implicated that makes it a struggle.

And it’s not just male teachers who are effected by these evil people. They have also taken technology like social media, which I hear has incredible benefits as an educational tool, and prevented good, hard-working teachers from freely using it to assist their students.

One in 10 misconduct cases from schools involved teachers using social networking sites like Facebook to start inappropriate relationships with their pupils, it was reported.

n 43 of the 336 cases referred to the General Teaching Council for England last year for “unacceptable professional conduct”, teachers had used online forums, emails and websites like Facebook and Twitter to contact children.

A total of 14 were suspended and 18 were given prohibition orders, according to the Guardian.

The figures also revealed a wide variation in school policy over social networking websites with some banning teachers from having accounts while others allow staff to be “friends” with pupils.

The GTC registrar, Paul Heathcote, told the Guardian: “Often the use of social media by teachers can be positive and make a valuable contribution to a teacher’s practice, to pupils or to the school.

“Only if the use of social media by a teacher is relevant and serious enough to potentially affect a teacher’s registration is it likely to progress to a hearing.”

I would argue that it has become too risky to use Facebook as an educational tool between teacher and student. And we know exactly who to blame for that.

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There is no Need to Sort Out the Gender Imbalance in Teaching

December 26, 2011

There is a disproportionate number of female primary teachers to males and there always will be. Instead of manipulating the numbers and offering incentives for males to join up, how about we look for teachers based on quality rather than gender? As much as it would be nice to have more men taking up primary teaching, I am not certain it is a position which men have an interest in. Many of my friends would sooner collect the dole than sign up to be a teacher. Whilst I love my job very much, most men don’t understand how why I selected my profession over the myriad of alternatives I had to choose from.

I love the position male teacher, Rocco Marchionda, takes on this issue:

Rocco Marchionda is a bit of an oddity.

At a glance, his kindergarten classroom at Merrill Elementary School in Oshkosh looks like any other song-filled, activity-oriented room of 5- and 6-year olds.

The unusual part is Marchionda himself: He’s a man. Teaching kindergarten.

“Pretty much everyone I’ve ever worked with is female. I can’t imagine what it would be like to teach with another male,” he said.

But that doesn’t seem to bother local educators as long as the teacher does a good job.”At the end of the day, the point is how the teaching is getting done and how the students are learning,” said Marchionda, who has been in the profession 13 years.

Marchionda said he became a kindergarten teacher because “in no other grade have I seen children grow so much.”

While educators want better diversity in their schools, Inda said she doesn’t believe the imbalance is a problem.”The most critical piece in a classroom teacher is not whether they’re male or female. It’s their ability to be a great teacher,”Jean Inda (director of professional education programs) said. “The worst thing we could do is encourage more males to go into elementary education if they’re not comfortable there.”

I couldn’t agree more.

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False Allegations Ruin Teachers’ Lives

October 16, 2011

Teaching is a profession that involves a great deal of responsibility and requires a high level of trust. But that trust is easily eroded.

The risks of teaching for many males outweigh the obvious benefits.  It is a noted fact that prospective male primary teachers often decide not to join the profession because of the fear of a false allegation.  And it’s not only males.  Female teachers are also the subject of malicious accusations.

Figures from the Department for Education show that around 44 per cent of claims made by pupils and their parents were “unsubstantiated, malicious or unfounded”.

In one-in-five cases, teachers were automatically suspended while investigations into allegations were carried out, despite widespread concerns over a wave of false claims.

Fewer than one-in-20 allegations levelled at staff resulted in a criminal conviction.

The Government warned that false allegations had a “devastating impact” on teachers’ lives.

Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister, said: “Every allegation of abuse must be taken seriously, but some children think they can make a false allegation without any thought to the consequences for the teacher concerned.

“When these allegations are later found to be malicious or unfounded, the damage is already done. It can have a devastating impact and ruin a teacher’s career and private life.

“This research shows why the Coalition Government’s plan to give teachers a legal right to anonymity when allegations are made by pupils is so important.”

The Government obtained data from 116 out of 150 local authorities in England.

It found that 12,086 allegations of abuse had been made by schools in 2009/10.

Almost a fifth resulted in teachers being suspended while allegations were investigated. More than half of investigations took longer than a month to complete – beyond the target limit identified by the Government.

Whilst I am a huge advocate for encouraging victims of abuse to go public with their allegations, I am mindful that many innocent teachers tend to be implicated for crimes they never committed.

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Lack of Male Teachers Not Responsible for Boys in Gangs

September 3, 2011

I think the experts have it all wrong when it comes to the lack of male teachers in Primary schools.  Sure, the male teachers currently working in the primary/elementary system are generally doing a great job, especially in teaching boys, but there are legitimate reasons why male teachers are not lining up to teach.

It was great to read a blog post by writer and educator Katharine Birbalsingh, who dispels the far-fetched assumptions made about the lack of male primary teachers :

Only 12.4 per cent of the primary school workforce is male. 27 per cent of primary schools in Britain are staffed entirely by women. And in secondary schools, only 37.5 per cent of teachers are male. In an age where some fathers have so little to do with their children, these statistics are seen to be scandalous. Clearly this must explain why some of our boys end up in gangs, why boys underachieve at GCSE in comparison to girls – a gap that widened to record level this year – and why chaos reins in our classrooms. Or does it?

Ms. Birbalsingh goes on to conclude that whilst male teachers have a positive effect on male students, the real issue is the fathers of these students.

Sure, having more men in our schools would be a good thing. And absent fathers is a bad thing. But no teacher can really ever replace a missing father. And that’s where the problem for our boys lies on the whole. What we need are families. Indeed, not too long ago, when ordinary families were more the norm, when fathers were present, male teachers hardly existed, and our boys were doing just fine. So are the schools really to blame for the underachievement of our boys? I would think not. I would think the onus is on our broken families.

My view is that the obsession for male teachers is unhealthy.  Men just don’t seem to be interested in taking up teaching.  My former classmates just assume that I fell into teaching and that my grades must have been so poor that I didn’t have much of an option.  Whilst this couldn’t be further from the truth, it does tell us a bit about the average man’s attitude to teaching – there is no interest in the profession whatsoever.  Especially teaching children under the age of 13.

And I ask you, who would you rather have teaching your son, a diligent, professional and passionate female teacher or a male teacher who reluctantly signed up because the Government were offering cash incentives too good to refuse?

I love teaching at the Primary level and wouldn’t swap my job for any other.  I know other male teachers who feel the same way.  But the reality is, men just don’t want to teach.  We can’t expect them to do something they just don’t want to do.

My school doesn’t even have a male toilets.  The male staff members of our school are forced to use the disabled toilets when they need to go.  As sad as that sounds, it’s hard to justify building a toilet in the current climate.

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Don’t Expect an Influx of Male Teachers Sometime Soon

August 3, 2011


In an incredibly pointed and honest comment, reader Eric succinctly sums up the difficulties of being a male primary teacher.

As long as society remains in a state of collective hysteria regarding children, more and more adults (especially men) will rightly fear situations where they are in close proximity to children other than their own. Personally, I go out of my way to avoid certain parks, playgrounds and other areas where children congregate, because an unaccompanied adult male seen walking near such areas will arouse suspicion. I don’t mind this situation; I’d much rather be far away and unseen than fall prey to the lynch mob.

Any efforts to “recruit” more men into teaching will only ensnare some naive, unwary men into situations that could land them in prison in the blink of an eye, their lives ruined forever. Men, you have been warned!

These sentiments are almost never expressed but is not a minority view.  Eric is clearly a responsible and ethical person who is all too aware of the constant news reports about sick, deranged and evil male teachers.  Eric and the average parent have every right to feel this way.  The safety and security of children is much more important than the welfare of the male teaching fraternity.

The warning expressed above may not be verbalised very often but it is not lost on men who fleetingly consider teaching before thinking better of it.

Personally, I enjoy my job immensely, pride myself on my professional approach and can cope with the fact that male and female teachers are judged differently in the eyes of some parents.

But for those that desperately want more males in the system – don’t expect an influx too soon.

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Youth Violence Blamed on Lack of Male Teachers

June 24, 2011

This one wins “The Long Bow Award” for the most absurd theory in education.

A Decline in the number of male teachers is being blamed for rising youth violence.

Adolescent psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said the lack of male teachers was a major problem.

“We know males give something different to the developing boy than what female teachers give. To some extent we have lost that male narrative and left it to Hollywood to teach boys about masculinity,” he said.

The article is right though in suggesting there are very real reasons why males are not finding teaching an attractive career path:

Low pay, a perception that teaching is “women’s work”, and fears of being labelled a pedophile have been blamed for the reluctance of young men to teach.

As long as males don’t find this career path appealing, we are wrong in believing that we even have a shortage of male teachers to begin with.  There’s nothing worse than a teacher that doesn’t enjoy what he/she does.

I wonder if this frenzy to have more male teachers will inspire a new kind of sexual equality.  I wonder if the following methods will be employed to get potential male teachers interested:

– Pay them more than female teachers

– Offer a university fees rebate for male teachers

– Create quota systems for males in schools and universities.

I believe all these measures would be a mistake.  Essentially what we are looking for are good teachers not male teachers.  Whilst I hope men come to discover what a wonderful profession this is, I wouldn’t push it.

As for the lack of male teachers being blamed for youth violence, I very much doubt it.  Male teachers can have a very strong effect on male students in particular, but the theory is outrageous at best.

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