Education-1
The Status of Male
Teachers in Public Education Today The study, called “The Status of Male Teachers in Public Education Today” by Shaun P. Johnson, a graduate research assistant at CEEP, concludes that the lowest percentage of male teachers in decades — only one in 10 elementary school teachers is a man — is a threat to gender equality, social justice and other democratic values. “It’s an inappropriate example of living in a democracy where we try to promote equality and fairness, egalitarian values in our schools,” Johnson said. “We’ve got these schools as an institution that are supposed to reproduce our culture and our values, but are extremely stratified based on gender. And it keeps going and going for 150 years or more.” Just a quarter of public school teachers in the United States are men, according to the latest data from the National Education Association. Indiana has one of the highest percentages of male teachers at 30.5%, more than six percentage points above the national percentage. The portion of men who are teachers is lower in early childhood education. Johnson’s brief dismisses the notion that the so-called “boys crisis” — the idea that boys are failing U.S. education because of lower standardized test scores — would be remedied by more male teachers. The brief also states that as long as there is a great disparity in the teacher workforce, children will continue to form sexist gender relations, based on the concept that “women teach and men manage.” “I find it hard to believe that 90 percent of the given male population doesn’t want to teach,” Johnson said. “So we have to start asking these questions — what are the subtle systems in place that are discouraging men from teaching?” Historically low teacher salaries have certainly contributed to the issue, the brief found. Pay scales did not increase dramatically when compulsory education and population growth required more teachers at the turn of the 19th century. Johnson’s research found that education reformers often advocated for teaching as better suited to women, who could be paid about a third as much as male teachers. The brief states “it is inappropriate to conclude that teaching is more appropriate for women than men. The issue is more complicated than just one of pay scale, Johnson said. “There’s a lot of guys who take very low-paying jobs and also have the pressure to be a breadwinner,” he said. “Yet, they’re still not teaching.” The brief suggests a larger effort toward changing the likelihood of men entering teaching. For one, Johnson said there should be more research into the issue of men teaching in public schools. One of the recommendations of the brief is that there should be a comprehensive and well-informed research agenda for the issue. “Men’s studies are relatively common — they’ve been relatively common since the ’80’s — but nothing specifically geared toward an educational audience or students within a school of education that talk about this issue,” he said. Schools of education and local school districts should establish more collaborative relationships to explore the issue and recruit more men, the brief recommends. Furthermore, the brief states that local school districts should do more to promote gender equality and social justice in their communities. “We need to make sure that schools not only take on more male teachers,” Johnson said, “but individuals who have the kind of values that are going to perpetuate more diversity in the teaching profession.” Johnson started a course called “Men in Education and the Male Teacher” at the IU School of Education last year. The full policy brief is available at:ceep.indiana.edu/projects/PDF/PB_V6N4_Winter_2008_EPB.pdf. CEEP promotes and supports rigorous program evaluation and policy research primarily, but not exclusively, for education, human services and non-profit organizations. Its research uses both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. More about CEEP is available on the CEEP website, http://ceep.indiana.edu/. The following comments are available as mp3 files on the IU School of Education Web site at http://www.education.indiana.edu. Look for this news release under “News” on the home page. The sound bites below will have a clickable link to hear and to save the files. Johnson says pinning down an actual “problem” with a lack of male teachers is itself problematic: “I guess that’s been the toughest thing for me, because as a former elementary teacher I started with that idea, ‘well, you know kids need more guys to model guy things.’ Then you start learning about work and masculinity and gender and you realize, ‘well, those lines between men’s and women’s roles are very fuzzy. There are a lot of gray areas if you get stuck into this ‘I can model this masculinity.’ That’s the same kind of thinking that causes this disparity in the teaching profession in the first place, that teaching is a job for women, that working with little kids is the place for women, it’s domestic, it’s tied to the home. So I do see it as a problem, but I’m trying to attack it in this brief as being an inappropriate example of living in a democracy where we try to promote equality and fairness, egalitarian values in our schools and we’ve got these schools as an institution that’s supposed to reproduce our culture and our values that’s extremely stratified based on gender and it keeps going and going for 150 years or more and so I’m starting to take it from that perspective.” Just raising teacher salaries isn’t adequate to solve the problem, Johnson says: “The idea about the low salary issue is that it is complicated and it affects men and women very differently. So just to sit here and say, ‘Oh, well the best solution is just to increase teacher salary,’ first of all, that would be extremely expensive. You think there are 4 million teachers out there. You give everyone a $1,000 raise; you’re talking about a ton of money. It just would not work. Then you’re not even getting into the quality of these teachers and those other kinds of issues, so it’s a little more complicated than just low salary. There’s a lot of guys who take very low paying jobs and also have the pressure to be a breadwinner and yet they’re still not teaching.” (Male teachers in elementary school aren't safe - for the male teachers. ANYONE can say he was inappropriate and immediately he is guilty untilo HE PROVES he's not. And I have yet to see a protocol that he can follow that will make that happen. I have had a friend (a well know author) who was a teacher, had a complaint, police came, handcuffed him in front of everyone (is he really THAT dangerous), starts the rumors and his reputation, ability to work again, sometimes even losing his family, when it was a false claim - a revenge because he tried to educate the parent's bully son. Gordon Clay) The real issue with a lack of male teachers is one of values, according to Johnson: (Cultural values.) “But when you see such a strong
disparity, we’re talking 90-10 percent in the
elementary at least, some of these disparities are seen in
other traditionally feminine occupations like nursing or
something like that. I find it hard to believe that 90
percent of the given male population doesn’t want to
teach, they don’t like kids, they don’t want to
clean diapers and mop the floor at home or something like
that or clean up after themselves. I find that hard to
believe. So there has to be some kind of coercion or some
kind of system in place that discourages men from actually
teaching young children. So we have to start asking these
questions, what are these subtle processes? What are these
subtle systems in place that are discouraging men from
actually teaching? It’s more than access. It’s
more than career choice. It’s really getting down to
the fundamental aspects of education. If they’re
expected to promote these values, then we can’t have
this kind of representation in the work force.” Can
Teachers ‘Quiet Quit?’ - 10/5/22 Teachers are known for going above and beyond expectations—giving of themselves, their time, and even their own money. It’s not unusual for teachers to skip going to the bathroom or eating lunch during the school day. They devote chunks of their evenings and weekends to lesson planning, grading, and responding to student needs and parent inquiries. They also regularly buy supplies to outfit their classrooms—in a 2021 member survey from the Association of American Educators, around 32 percent of respondents said they spent between $500 and $700 on out-of-pocket expenses for their classrooms annually; nearly 9 percent spent $1,000 or more. “Look at how much teachers spend out of their pocket,” said Colin Sharkey, executive director of of the association. “They do the same thing with their heart.” But the longevity and fairness of teachers’ commitment-at-all-costs attitude has come into question. Teachers’ job satisfaction levels have plummeted to all-time lows, according to the Merrimack College Teacher Survey conducted earlier this year by the EdWeek Research Center. The same survey found that 44 percent of teachers said they’re likely to quit and find a different job within the next two years. So far, a mass exodus of teachers has not materialized, even as individual schools and districts have had to deal with high turnover and staff shortages. In a nationwide EdWeek Research Center survey from July 27 through Aug. 8, district and school leaders reported that a median of 7 percent of teachers had resigned or retired within the past year. But just because teachers haven’t officially quit doesn’t mean they are satisfied or might not be looking for ways to manage their work-related stress. “I think it’s still coming,” Sharkey said, referring to an uptick in teacher resignations. “If you’re exhausting the people who are staying, you’re just buying some time.” The “quiet quitting” trend—made viral this summer by TikTok videos with tips on how to keep your job from taking over your life—has gotten tons of attention across industries, especially as labor markets continue to challenge employers. In schools—especially those with unionized teachers—quiet quitting may sound a lot like the “work to rule” concept when employees stick to official working rules and hours exactly to the letter. Education Week talked to some educators about job-related frustrations that could lead to negative behaviors associated with quiet quitting, as well as practical solutions that include boundary setting, proactive communication aimed at problem solving, and a deliberate emphasis on building a positive work culture. Setting boundaries Michelle C. Faust is a literacy coach at Carolina Springs Elementary in Lexington, South Carolina, a transition she made this year after spending over a dozen years as a classroom teacher. When she hears the term “quiet quitting,” Faust says she immediately thinks about setting boundaries—a need she saw escalate during the pandemic. “Everything was an emergency: a phone call about quarantining, coming up with emergency plans,” Faust said. “There was such a heightened sense of urgency.” Adding to the intensity of the situation was a near-constant barrage of emails from parents, whom Faust says often expected immediate responses—despite frequent lack of reciprocation when she sent messages home. Faust recalls one such email that forced her to set some boundaries. She had taken a personal day for a doctor’s appointment when a parent emailed her at 5 a.m. requesting a meeting to discuss a conflict between her child and another student. “Finally I was like: No, I don’t need to answer this email immediately,” Faust said. She then instituted a “24-hour rule” in which she’d give herself that amount of time to respond to parents’ emails that were not urgent. And rather than respond to parent emails about issues such as changes to student transportation and early dismissals, she began reminding parents to follow school protocols and contact the main office with those messages. How to start “quiet quitting” your teaching job #quietquitting #teachersoftiktok #workboundaries #formerteacher #teacherquittok #sustainability The self-imposed boundary-setting that Faust describes has been labeled a hallmark of quiet quitting, although some HR professionals see it simply as common sense behavior. “Quiet quitting is what some managers choose to call employees setting healthy boundaries in their workplace … The truth is, employees are starting to set and protect their boundaries at work around work-life balance and how they want to be treated at work. That’s all,” wrote global recruiter Elena Stefanopol in Forbes.com. Boundary-setting notwithstanding, Faust eventually began looking for an opportunity outside of classroom teaching that would allow her to grow professionally and continue to make a positive impact on students. Now, as a literacy coach, she partners with teachers, sharing best practices and acting as what she describes as a “think” partner. For countless teachers like Jessica Saum, it’s hard to imagine working strictly within designated hours—behavior associated with quiet quitting. “Change isn’t just made between 7:50 a.m. and 3 in the afternoon,” said Saum, an special education teacher at Stagecoach Elementary School in Cabot, Ark. Saum accepts that getting to her classroom earlier than when the school day officially begins and staying later to wrap things up and prepare for the next day is part of her job. Even when she’s not physically present at her job, it’s often still with her. “It’s hard to shut off work when I leave,” Saum said. But recently, when she had too few paraeducators for students in her classroom, she recognized that she needed to speak up. Her classroom consists of students from various grades who leave the room at different times throughout the day—and require adult supervision. “I simply did not have the staff to get all my students where they needed to go,” Saum said. The solution proved to be a matter of asking colleagues to help with the logistical challenges she was facing. But Saum—like so many teachers—wasn’t accustomed to asking for help. “It took me admitting: I can’t do this. I’m overwhelmed,” said Saum. “It’s hard to say that. As educators, we don’t want to admit when we can’t.” Saum acknowledges the role of improved communication in solving the problem. “A lot of times, our administrators are willing and want to help us, but they don’t know what we need,” she said. “So much of it feels like a breakdown in communication.” Building a positive work culture from the top Teachers finding the courage to ask for help is one thing; administrators hearing them is another. It’s something that Drew Eichelberger, superintendent of Bethany Public Schools in Bethany, Okla., says he makes a priority. “We practice listening until there is dead silence,” he said of his leadership team. “So a teacher or parent might come in with a concern. We listen, take notes, do whatever we can to make the person feel heard. If there is a reason why we have to do what we do, we tell them. If it is something we can change, we change it.” Eichelberger describes this as part of the culture he strives to instill in the leadership throughout his district. “When I hire, I am looking for people who believe in the importance of building relationships with students, teachers, staff, parents, and community,” he said. It starts with seemingly small actions that leave big impressions. For instance, each of the district’s principals stands in front of their respective schools every morning to greet students and staff with a smile, a knuckle bump, and some type of affirmation: I like your hair, nice shoes, thanks for being here, great job in the game last night, etc. Eichelberger credits his emphasis on relationship building for the high retention rate among his staff, which he says typically runs between 95 percent and 97 percent. Said Eichelberger: “People will
run through brick walls for people they believe care for
them, have their best interests at heart, will listen and
will go to bat for them.”
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