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| Male Teachers in Elementary Schools http://forum.gayleturner.net/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=4998 |
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| Author: | Kimberly Isidori [ Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:48 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Male Teachers in Elementary Schools |
I know that recently we discussed having male teachers in elementary schools. I have a friend who is a male and a kindergarten teacher. He mentioned that one reason his male friends said they would not teach elementary school is because they do not have the patience for the younger kids or the activities and type of teaching done in those grades. I was wondering what you thought about this and whether you think this is a reason that many males don't teach elementary school. If not, what are some reasons you think males generally do not teach elementary school? |
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| Author: | William Vreeland [ Wed Apr 22, 2009 11:57 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
I have had the ability to substitute elementary school and always see that very few men are there. There are some but for the most part they are in the upper elementary grades. Some of the reasons I belive that men don't do lower elementary grades are as follows in no particular order. 1- Touching. I think this might just be one of the biggest reasons for it. I know for myself, I usually always subbed at the same couple of schools and after a short time, students always got to know me. What always followed was a kindergardener, 1st grader,all they way up to 3rd graders comming up at the end of the day and giving me a hug. For a female teacher, this may not seem all that strange but in my opinion, if a parent ever saw me getting a hug from the student, it always made me feel as if they were wondering what I was doing. I knew a lot of the parents at one of the schools I subbed at but it still felt as if they were wondering. I think that it is somewhat expected for Female teachers to get such affection but males if a male gets it, it has a different conertation. While for the students it is their way of expressing theirself, parents don't see it the same way. Content- It is different content than say middle or high school in Elementary school. While I believe males are just as capable as females to teach the subject, I think there are steriotypes that stop them from doing so. Even if you look at high school classes, male teachers are seen in history classes more than females and female teachers are seen in L.A. classes more than males. I believe there are expectations placed on people that say "you should teach this because you're ______ and are better prepared for it" Let me use spanish class in high school as a perfect example. Many white males speak perfect spanish but I have never seen a while male spanish teacher much less a male spanish teacher. Expectations and the same applies to elementary school. Pacience- This might be the worst steriotype of them all. Men are expected to be command freaks that demand order while women are seen as nice models that can ease a situation. With that said, if a man walks into a kindergarden class, society would say that a male would run it like a military camp with students expected to stay in their seats and learn. WON'T HAPPEN!!!! To sum it all up, I don't believe either gender or any race or ethnic background should place a person into a particular class. However, I think there are social constraints on both male and female teachers and for males, they are not seen as a suitable young elementary school teachers even if they have more credentials than a female. Now with that said I should also mention that if a male does apply for a elementary grade job, he has a much better chance than a female of getting the job than a female with the same credentials just because elementary schools are always looking for those male occupants. |
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| Author: | Emily Towery [ Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:29 am ] |
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I feel like most males don't teach elementary school because of a stereotype. I have always thought that guys just didn't teach elementary school because everyone thinks that guys don't like kids as much as girls do. I personally think that everyone is different and likes different things. If a guy gets along with children really well and has the patience to teach young children then more power to him. I think they should definitely teach kids. Just because you don't see many guys teaching elementary school doesn't mean that they can't. As a matter of fact, I am in Practicum right now and the teacher I worked with at Glen Alpine Elementary is male. He was a great teacher and got along well with the kids. I learned a lot from him. |
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