Editorials
Editorial: Children need to see more male teachers in primary school
Ireland has one of the highest percentages of female primary teachers in the EU, at 85.8%. This skewed statistic highlights the cultural values that deter males from applying for a career teaching young children. I have first-hand experience working in a female-dominated profession as I trained as a nurse when I left school. Soon after […]
Read MorePodcast: Boys see the job “as a female profession”
That’s according to teacher and columnist Jennifer Horgan who feels the roots of the problem begin very early on. “About 80% [of primary school teachers are] women, I think, and if there is a man in the building, he tends to be the principal,” she told Newstalk Breakfast. “Secondary is a little bit better, I […]
Read MoreOpinion: Recruit men to help ease teacher shortage in Connecticut
As the school year ends, Connecticut faces a worsening teacher shortage, with nearly 3,000 reported vacancies. State officials announced in May a $3 million initiative to address the problem with hiring and training programs, including a new Registered Apprenticeship Program. I commend the good efforts being made by government officials, as well as school district […]
Read MoreManning up for men: Recruitment and retention in the early childhood field
The early childhood care and education field tends to be no man’s land. Nationwide, a meager 3.2 percent of ECE and kindergarten teachers are men, and 44 percent of them leave the field within five years.1 Roadblocks to men teaching young children include rigid ideas about gender roles, perceptions of ECE as a low-prestige job, […]
Read MoreEditorial: Why You Shouldn’t Overlook Hiring a Male Babysitter
If you haven’t yet tried a “mitter,” a.k.a. a male babysitter, you might be missing out on valuable childcare and a refreshing change of pace for your kids. Although babysitting has come to be viewed as a female-dominated domain, there’s no reason to think that women will take better care of your kids than men. […]
Read MoreEditorial: Irish Teacher – We’ll change nothing if we don’t start working on our ordinary men
It was International Women’s Day this week. I wish we’d spent more of it talking about men. If you want more light in a room, you don’t discuss the light, you consider extending your windows. The same applies to gender equality. To create a better world for women we need to talk about men. The […]
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