Calling Nurturing Men to the Teaching Profession
Happy Father’s Day! I am proud to know many nurturing fathers who are also teachers and who fight for public education. I have also known men who are not fathers, but who are marvelous teachers, who view their students like their own children.
Men are needed to teach in this country. There’s supposedly a teacher shortage, but there has always been a shortage of male teachers. There’s still a huge gender gap when it comes to teaching.
When men do teach, it’s usually high school. But good male teachers are needed at the early childhood and middle school levels. Male teachers who stand up for the profession and public schools, and who stand next to female teachers, show how important this profession and public schools are to this country. They are valuable role models for both girls and boys.
Men who teach early childhood education have a lot of moxie. It can’t be easy to walk into an elementary school of strong-willed women who know the craft of teaching. But their expertise is also needed!
In 2014, Motoko Rich authored an article in The New York Times titled “Why Don’t More Men Go Into Teaching?” He gives excellent reasons why men avoid Calling Nurturing Men to the Teaching Profession: