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Guest Article... |
The Shortage of Men Teachers
by Bryan G. Nelson, menteach.org © 2003
National Public Radio (NPR) did a show about the shortage of male teachers in elementary schools. It was interesting but the discussion didn't go far enough in explaining the lack of men teachers.
The main reason offered was low wages. Although low pay is one of the key reasons why men don't teach, from our nationwide study, we found three reasons:
1) Stereotypes - many people believe teaching is "women's work."
2) Fear of accusations of abuse - some people fear men will harm young children.
3) Low status and low pay - the work is not valued by our society.
One additional idea to consider: In a unionized school district, the pay for elementary and high school teachers is basically the same, yet, there are a larger percentage of men in high school (46%) than elementary schools (26%). If low wages were the only reason or primary reason then the percentages of men would be the same in elementary school as high school. The younger the ages of the children, the fewer the men.
Again, low wages is important, but, there are other occupations that have greater percentages of men than women that have low pay (e.g. janitors, farm workers).
As long as we consider the teaching and care of young children as related to women, than the wages and status will remain low. Men need to place children as a priority in their lives - and what better way than to make teaching a career.
If more men teach or work in professions where the majority are women will wages increase? Maybe. There was one report from the National Education Association (NEA) that showed that "States with the highest salaries tend to have the highest proportion of male teachers."
But, some men are finding it difficult to even get an interview. A man from New Hampshire e-mailed that he has all the qualifications, has in fact substituted in the classrooms, but can't even get interviewed:
"It is getting very disheartening. I had been subbing at the high school in my hometown on a regular basis since October 2001. I heard there were three (3) math teacher positions opening up for the 2002-3 school year. I did not even merit an interview!
"You would think they would at least acknowledge my interest and give me a token interview. Elementary school has been even tougher. If there is such a shortage of men, then why am I not even getting interviews?"
Men have been caring for young children for generations. If a mom had to go to work, a father would watch the child. Or in the early days of the United States, almost all of those teaching young children were men. It was only after economics and socio-demographics changed (women were getting more education and delaying both marriage and childbirth) that women began to outnumber men.
And as we see changes in our society, it may be that we'll see a change again in who is teaching our children. For the first time in history, more women are entering medical and law school. We see women going into battle in Iraq. Who will care for the children?
Let's be clear. It really isn't really the sex of the person that makes the difference. It's the quality of their teaching and caring that makes a difference. But as long as the majority of teachers are women, children will be getting a clear message, unspoken perhaps, that caring and teaching young children is not something men do.
Children benefit from having strong, caring, nurturing men (and women) in their daily lives.
I was reading an article in TIME magazine about men in child care that has a negative headline: "I Want Your Job, Lady!" The tone of the article portrays men as trying to take "womens' jobs."
First, what is a woman's job? I cannot think of any work that is women's work. Second, men are looking for meaningful work, they aren't looking to take someone else's job. Third, men don't necessarily want to be promoted to administrative jobs and would rather work directly with people - but - unfortunately, the pay is higher for administrative jobs.
Finally, pitting men and women against each other for jobs is a distraction from helping our society achieve the equity women, men and children desire.
Bryan G. Nelson, menteach.org, © 2003
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