By Tom
There came a point in my life when it became clear that I wasn't going to play centerfield for the Baltimore Orioles. It was time to choose a different, perhaps more realistic, career. I considered many: ophthalmologist, milkman, veterinarian, funeral director, even psychologist. But as a college student I took a part-time job as a lifeguard. As such, I was also required to teach swimming lessons. Although I quickly lost interest in guarding lives (too boring) I fell in love with teaching. I enjoyed the kids, the mental challenge of planning and executing lessons and I loved watching my hard work produce tangible and immediate results.
The fact that most of the hot girls on campus seemed to be majoring in elementary education sealed the deal. I was going to be a grade school teacher.
I've been teaching third grade for nearly 26 years now, and I still love doing what I do. But the fact of the matter is, I'm rare. Less than twenty percent of Washington's elementary teachers are male. It's actually not something I dwell on very often; as teachers we spend the vast majority of our time as the sole adult in a room of children. You stand out whether you're male or female. But at a recent workshop on reading instruction I looked around and counted two other guys in a room filled with over a hundred women.
So instead of learning how to better teach reading, I sat there wondering: Why are there so few men teaching little kids? Should there be more? How can we get more? When's lunch?
Why are we so few? If you read the literature out there, the consensus seems to be that elementary education is seen by men as a low-pay, low-prestige occupation with a culture dominated by women. Personally, I might agree with the low-pay perception, but only to a point. On the one hand, it was pretty difficult to support a family of four on my salary during those years in which my wife stayed home with our children. On the other hand, I'm not sure I'd be making more money elsewhere, and the pay, though relatively low, is exceptionally steady and predictable.
Low-prestige? I'm not so sure. There are plenty of people who look down on teachers, and I see it expressed a lot in the media, but I've personally encountered very little of it. Almost everyone I meet is interested and impressed by the fact that I teach little kids. Or maybe they're just humoring me. Or surprised that I have a job at all.
The culture of my workplace, though, is definitely dominated by women; in much the same way that I imagine a longshoreman enjoys a male-dominated workplace culture. I'm sure that we "process ideas" during our staff meetings far more thoroughly than my brothers on the longshore do during their meetings. If they even have any. It stands to reason, of course, that a profession dominated by women will give rise to a feminine workplace culture.
Which brings me to second question: Should we have more men teaching young children? I think so. School should prepare kids for the real world. The real world has an equal number of men and women. Schools don't, and it shows. Without getting specific, I think most of us would agree that men and women tend to approach problems somewhat differently. And I think we need to cultivate both approaches in our students. Studies have shown that male teachers tend to incorporate more humor, more games and more movement into their teaching. Women, on the other hand, tend to focus more on sharing, conversation and feelings. We need all of that in our schools. Moreover, many kids live with a single parent, usually a mother. They need to see what a responsible man looks and acts like. Boys, in particular, need to see themselves reflected somewhere in their world.
And that's where I think the problem is. The fact that our schools, particularly our grade schools, are dominated and mostly staffed by women sends the implicit message to our children that it should be so. When I ask my third graders about their career plans, I rarely hear little boys tell me that they plan to teach. On the other hand, at least a third of my girls want to grow up to be teachers.
So by the age of eight, our children have learned that elementary education is a woman's job. Which it isn't. So the disparity perpetuates itself.
How, then, do we break this cycle?
We can start by recruiting them. Menteach.org is focusing on that. They also have resources for men pursuing a job in elementary education. Of course, once these men get through college and out into the job market, they're going to encounter a tough landscape. Teaching jobs, at least in Washington, are scarce right now, and nobody (including me) is talking about preferential hiring for men. Higher salaries might entice more men to teach, but that doesn't seem even remotely possible any time in the near future.
What about merit pay? Men are arguably more attracted to and motivated by competition than women. Might merit pay attract more men? Maybe, but even the most ambitious merit pay schemes are basically a standard pay scale with a small merit-based bonus stuck to the top. And here in Washington, where we have bonuses for teachers who earn National Board Certification, we actually see more women NBCTs than you would predict, given the number of women in the classroom. Personally, I think men (and women) who are motivated by competition don't gravitate toward education in the first place. They end up in business or law. Or centerfield for the Baltimore Orioles.
So I'm still wondering. If we agree that we need more men in our grade schools, how do we get them there? Any ideas?
I’m 51 and teach 1st grade and yes, there a very few men teaching K-2. I agree more would be better but the truth is teaching the youngest children is the least glamorous end of education. Glamorous is the wrong word- K and 1 are closest to pre-school which many see just as glorified child-care (they’re wrong) and everyone knows childcare is women’s work ; ). Men are passively discouraged from teaching the youngest students, IMHO. Typical reaction I get from men AND women- “you teach 6 year olds?….that’s so…great!” Meaning better you than me with some “I don’t get it” mixed in. 2nd most common reaction- “do you want to be a principal?”
When society values teachers more, you’ll see more of the “best and brightest” enter teaching, both female and male. Actually, my colleagues are the best and brightest I know!
I’ve taught in high school and middle school for 26 years. One of my best friends taught 4th grade for 20 years (he loved this post Tom), and a long time ago we traded classes for a day. I taught 4th grade and he taught my math and biology classes at the high school. I did a lesson on art and biology, making prints of fish. But one little girl pushed too hard and the guts smeared the paper. Ooooohhh yuuuukkkk! At lunch we walked out by some trees to eat, and another girl ran up and held my hand. I started to sweat. When my friend and I got together to debrief at the end of the day I told him my stories, then asked him how it went for him. He said pretty good, but he did’t get any hugs. I told him that was a good thing.
I admire you and agree that more men as elementary teachers would be a good thing. But it won’t be me:-)
My husband teaches elementary and I teach secondary. He has often said the same thing about how many women are in elementary.
I think it will change. Teaching is a great job, and while public education is often crticized and under-funded, teachers as a group are usually praised. As more fathers take active roles in raising children more of them are going to consider teaching small children. As Mark says, 28 little ones can be scary. So can 38 15-year olds, but people sign up to tackle that!
Recruiting men into the elementary grades is an important step, and thank you for passing on the link and getting the word out. Having positive role models of both genders is valuable. Having a staff that reflects the makeup of the student body is valuable. It’s worth a recruitment effort.
You are so right Tom. From my First Grade perspective, the students really like having men practicum students and substitute teachers. It brings a different view to the classroom. Having several boys in class that are mostly with their single moms, they seem to need the approval and interest of a male teacher. They jump at the chance to read to him, have him read their writing, and just work math problems together. It would be very beneficial for our young students to get a different point of view on a regular basis. I will be sharing your menteach link with others. Thanks
Great piece, Tom. A lot to chew on–and not just the baseball metaphors.
The shrinking males/expanding females ratio of teachers has steadily increased over the past four decades, K-12. Women used to be in the minority in high school teaching, but are now dominant there as well, and the trend has not reversed since the late sixties, which is when most states/districts had adopted the single salary schedule. There was a little blip of increased male elementary teachers in the 70s, but that went away over time.
Southern states seem to have the highest percentage of females–it’s almost 85% in South Carolina. Collective bargaining states have more men, lending credence to your salary argument.
Good discussion! I do think men and women bring different, equally important, things to teaching.
I think it’s a common assumption – and not very accurate – that you have to be a soft, caring, nurturing person to be a good primary teacher. Little (and big) kids need that, but they also need teachers who are tough and who place a premium on self-reliance. I try to be a little of both in my classroom, but in all honesty, I probably lean more toward tough.
And yes, people who find out that I’m a teacher usually assume that I teach older kids. Or PE. When they find out that I teach third grade, the next question is “Are you planning to move into administration?”
I think it will gradually change. It’s only been a couple generations since it was almost unheard of to be a female doctor. And male nurses are still relatively new.
While I know it’s not quite the same, I think the answer to why there aren’t as many male elementary teachers lies in the question I often get when I tell people I’m an English teacher (and they can see that I’m male). The most common question I get is “oh, so what do you coach?”
The perception about males in the field is sometimes the coaching angle…and to be honest I know an awful lot of male teachers who do teach mainly so they can coach. I’m not knocking coaching or sports, I coached before my own kids were born, but that’s part of the flawed image of what it means for a man in education–you’re either the principal or the coach, not the kindergarten teacher. I think more men are drawn to secondary because of the coaching opportunities, though it’s wrong to assume that this is the reason we’re all in the game.
I find the littler people scary. In all seriousness, I think many men do. It may be sexist to say so, but I think women are wired to tolerate the younger ones better than most men. Part of the solution to getting more men into elementary school teaching is to help them rethink what it means to be a teacher to little kids. Just as you pointed out, a male teacher will bring a different approach to the classroom in many ways, and a male elementary teacher need not adopt wholesale the behaviors and habits of a female teacher any more than if the roles were reversed. You’re a good example yourself, Tom. When I first met you, I assumed you taught middle school or maybe freshmen because it was pretty clear that you had a biting sense of humor and took crap from no one. I have a hard time picturing you with a mass of third graders, and perhaps that’s a good thing, because men entering the field need to see that there is more than one way to be a good teacher to the younger ones.