MenTeach E-News
December 2017
1) ‘Young Black Men [Should] See Black Men in Front of Them’ — This Detroit Teacher
2) Why we need more men to become primary teachers in the United Kingdom
3) Being a male teacher was my dream – until I was falsely accused
4) Male teacher shortage leaving Australian boys without role models
5) “Knights of the Kids’ Table” Men in Early Childhood Education conference in Winnipeg, Canada
6) German elementary schools ‘rent’ male teachers
7) 2017 NAEYC M.E.N. Interest National Awards
8) How to recruit black, male teachers and why it’s important
9) New York City continues to seek men of color to teach in schools
10) Editorial: Leadership – A Males Perspective
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1) ‘Young Black Men [Should] See Black Men in Front of Them’ — This Detroit Teacher
I began teaching at 22. Back in my hometown of Detroit and fresh out of college, I thought I had all the answers.
I believed students would instantly relate to me because of my knowledge, enthusiasm and youth.
Ha!
I soon learned that before I could effectively teach anything, I needed to better understand my students. Especially with black male students, I needed to find methods for engaging and sharing information at their level.
So seven years ago I started Lyricist Society, a program that engages young people by using hip-hop in the classroom. Read the article and watch hip-hop teaching: /node/3249
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2) Why we need more men to become primary teachers in the United Kingdom
As a 24-year-old Primary NQT, there is one thing that separates me from the vast majority of my colleagues: I’m a man.
As of the last academic year, 85% of teachers working in primary and nursery settings are female. The average primary school or nursery with under nine full-time equivalent teaching staff, of which there are many, is unlikely to contain even one man. Read the article: /node/3250
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3) Being a male teacher was my dream – until I was falsely accused
My day started like any other. I got up early and had breakfast. My girlfriend, who is now my wife, drove me to work.
It was a beautiful, sunny day at the daycare centre where I worked, and the children were running around outside burning off energy after weeks of terrible weather. Sunny days in winter are an early childhood educator’s holy grail.
I’d been working at the centre for six months, while I waited for the next intake to study early childhood. A centre is permitted to have a ratio of untrained and trained staff and I’d been hired on the condition I would become qualified and remain at the centre after I’d finished my studies.
Everything was extremely normal. I set up morning tea and supervised the children as they played. The morning went quickly and before I knew it, it was lunch time. My girlfriend asked me to meet up for lunch, which we did. She had been a little unwell the past week. We ate in the car and she gave me a few items wrapped up like a present – baby booties and other baby items. She was pregnant! I looked at the pink line, and even though we had only known each other for few months it felt right.
After a bit of talking and hugging I kissed her goodbye and went back to work with a pretty big grin on my face. Read his story: /node/3251
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4) Male teacher shortage leaving Australian boys without role models
An exodus of male teachers from the profession is due in part to a fear of being wrongly painted as a sexual predator, an Estimates hearing has heard.
Education Minister Eva Lawler said the royal commission into child sex abuse had heightened those anxieties. Male teachers were sometimes wary of being alone in classrooms with children, she said.
Mr Lawler made the remarks in response to a question from independent Member for Blain Terry Mills about the dwindling number of men teaching in the Territory.
Ms Lawler said 22.6 per cent of NT teachers were men, with most working in high schools.
She said teaching also suffered from an image problem.
“I think it is more a community issue as well; I think it would be wonderful for males to see it as a profession of choice … it is seen as a hard career now, along with nursing,” she said. Read the article: /node/3254
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5) “KNIGHTS OF THE KIDS’ TABLE” Men in Early Childhood Education conference in Winnipeg, Canada
Announcing the “KNIGHTS OF THE KIDS’ TABLE” Men in Early Childhood Education conference in Winnipeg, Canada.
It is with great excitement we are announcing what we believe to be the 1st Can Am (Canadian/American) conference on Men in Early Childhood Education (MECE). On May 24, 2018 we will be gathering ECE’s of both genders to discuss the current state of our workforce, hearing from international experts on initiatives in other countries and strategizing on what we can do to realize a more gender balance ECE workforce in our countries. Come hear Frances Carlson (Author and friend of the MECE movement), Bryan Nelson (founder of www.MenTeach.org) and Jerry Parr from the USA along with Russell Ballantyne from New Zealand (president of www.ecmenz.org).
Read more about the conference: /node/3256
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6) German elementary schools ‘rent’ male teachers
The Rent a Teacherman program aims to put more men in elementary schools. It’s about time: In the state of Bremen, where the project is based, more than 20 percent of elementary schools don’t have a single male teacher.
For many German children, seeing a male teacher during their first four years of schools is an extraordinary experience.
“Some kids are so confused, at first they’ll call that male teacher Mrs. Patterson, or even Mrs. Mr. Patterson,” Christoph Fantini, head of the teaching program at the University of Bremen, told DW. “They have simply never seen a man in this position, so they don’t know how to address him properly.”
Elementary school teacher is a woman’s job in Germany. In 2015, there were almost 17,500 women studying to become teachers in grades one through four, but fewer than 2,500 men. Read the article: /node/3260
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7) 2017 NAEYC M.E.N. Interest National Awards
2017 NAEYC M.E.N. Interest Forum Champion for Men and Children Award
James (Jim) St. Clair began his teaching career in 1970, and worked as head teacher, lead teacher, director, and college instructor. In 1985 became a Kindergarten teacher in the Cambridge Public Schools at Escuela Amigos and worked until retirement almost three years ago. At times he was the only male Kindergarten teacher in Cambridge but soon gained many supporters among families, teachers and former students.
In retirement he continues to work in schools and singing in parks for children. He has been very supportive of MenTeach – New England organizing last year’s Winter gathering and talk at Wheelock College. He is now on the Defending Early Years national committee speaking out against school policies to minimize and eliminate play in the classroom and the privatization of public schools. He received our Annual Steve Shuman Men in Early Education award in 2010 and is important to us in New England.
2017 NAEYC M.E.N. Interest Forum Leader of Men and Children Award
Patrick Romero has been a male in ECE since college at San Francisco State University since 2011. He has worked at Horizons for Homeless Children in Roxbury, Mass, for Noe Valley Nursery School in San Francisco, CA, and currently for Mission Neighborhood Centers, Inc, as a Teacher for Head Start.
Patrick has worked diligently to increase the number of men working in ECE by offering Fathering programs, by creating environments that support both men and women, and by offering and advocating for greater acceptance of rough play in EC settings. Read the article: /node/3261
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8) How to recruit black, male teachers and why it’s important
The teaching profession in America remains largely white and female. That means young African American males can go through school without ever seeing a teacher who looks like them.
Not only can this mean a lack of black role models, but it also means teaching doesn’t get held up as a profession that’s desirable for black men to pursue.
Curtis Lewis is trying to chance that narrative. He’s principal of Henry Ford Academy and founder and Chairman of the Board of the Black Male Educators Alliance of Michigan. He’s spent his career in education and has experienced first-hand what it’s like to be the only black male teacher in a school. Read the article & listen to the broadcast: /node/3266
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9) New York City continues to seek men of color to teach in schools
Dexter Hannibal is a first-year teacher at Brooklyn Democracy Academy, a high school in Brownsville for students who’ve fallen behind. Sixty percent are boys of color.
“It’s important for them to be able to see someone who looks like them and maybe has some of the shared life experiences they’ve had,” Hannibal said. “For most of my students, they are immigrants and come from immigrant backgrounds. I’m also an immigrant, so I had to learn the history the way they are learning the history.”
Research shows it’s good for kids to have teachers who look like them. Black boys from low-income households are less likely to drop out and more likely to apply to college if they’ve had a black male teacher. But while 43 percent of city public school students are boys of color, only 8 percent of teachers are black, Asian or Hispanic men.
“We’re doing damage both to the black students, for whom it has a negative impact on their educational outcomes, but it does damage to all students with whom it has an impact on how they view the world,” said Deputy Mayor Richard Buery.
Two years ago, Mayor Bill de Blasio made what sounded like a bold promise – the city would recruit 1,000 men of color to teach by 2017. He set aside $16.5 million for the effort, which paid for radio and subway ads, sending recruiters to historically black colleges, and working with Teach for America to identify potential hires. Read the article and watch the news report: /node/3267
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10) Editorial: Leadership – A Males Perspective
I come from a family of 5, that includes my parents and a younger brother and sister, each of us 4 to 5 years apart. Growing up, I helped my siblings gain skills and knowledge that I acquired from my own experiences. These included riding a bike, reading a book, training for a sport and aspects of becoming a leader. In addition to my family and personal experiences, I find I continue to make crucial decisions that lead me to where I stand today; a male, pursuing Early Childhood Education, following my choice of a journey that will make a profound difference in the lives of others. Read the editorial: /node/3263
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