1) Scholarships for Minority Males in California
2) Virginia Education Association Symposium Highlights Need for More Male, Diverse Educators
3) We need to support more men to become primary teachers
4) Male teachers become rare breed in Korea
5) “Knights of the Kids’ Table” Men in Early Childhood Education conference in Winnipeg, Canada
6) F2MTC Project – $100 Stipend for Summer Bridge program for young men.
7) Nursery group in London launches action plan to recruit more men to work in the early years
8) New Jersey school event recognizes poetry, male teachers
9) Awards at Massachusetts AEYC and MenTeach – New England Event
10) Editorial – The Power of the Profession
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1) Scholarships for Minority Males in California
Future Minority Male Teachers of California
What is F2MTC?
The goal of the F2MTC project is to improve the pipeline for male teachers of color throughout the California State University system so that elementary age students of color will have increased numbers of males of color serving as teachers, mentors and role models, thereby helping to close the persistent achievement gap between white students and students of color. Read the article to find out about scholarships: /node/3288
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2) Virginia Education Association Symposium Highlights Need for More Male, Diverse Educators
There are twice as many students of color, by percentage, as teachers of color in Virginia’s public schools. What’s more, the Commonwealth has the fewest male teachers, proportionately, of any state in the U.S.
The Virginia Education Association recently gathered educators from across the Commonwealth for what was called the “Underrepresented Male Educators Symposium.” It was an effort to brainstorm ways to get more minorities, especially males, into the teaching profession.
Adam Evans teaches at Buford Middle School in Charlottesville. He also trains teachers on how to mentor underrepresented students. He said it’s important to have positive examples in leadership roles.
“I feel like we only owe our students the diversity in which our society has to offer,” Evans said. “You can look at some stats and data that shows you that when you have teachers who are minority and black, they can help students with self confidence, self identification, cultural identification, relating to history and beyond.” Read the article: /node/3290
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3) We need to support more men to become primary teachers in Australia
Australia is facing a crisis within primary education: there will not be enough teachers to educate the booming population of children coming through.
A report commissioned by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) predicts we will need 443 more primary classes and 10,000 places over the next 10 years in Queensland, and 1,627 classes and 390,480 primary places nationally before 2025.
Yet, this increase in demand comes at a time when there is a chronic problem recruiting teachers – particularly male primary teachers. The gender imbalance is a key factor contributing to a shortage of teachers, which has become chronic and normalised.
Only 10% of teachers in primary education are male. This has remained unchanged for over 10 years. With so many demands being made on primary education in the next 10 years, we can no longer continue recruiting from restricted sources. But in order to address this problem, we need to investigate and face up to the complex and sometimes confronting reasons male teachers no longer choose primary education as a career. Read the article: /node/3291
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4) Male teachers become rare breed in Korea
Teaching is one of the most preferred careers in Korea with stable working hours, long vacations and a hefty government pension after retirement. Those factors play their part in making the line of work competitive. However, the profession has been predominantly occupied by women.
Nine out of 10 people that passed the elementary teacher certificate examination this year were female.
Out of 360 people that passed the teacher recruitment exam for Seoul public elementary schools, 320 (88.8 percent) were female, while male teachers only accounted for 40 (11.1 percent), according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.
Many experts say the lack of a male presence in schools could cause some problems in children’s education.
The absence is said to make it difficult for students to find a male role model in school, and has been pointed to as one of the main reasons for weakening discipline in classrooms.
In an effort to increase the number of male teachers, the Ministry of Education enforced measures to increase the male quota at education colleges in 2000. The ministry set a female student enrollment ceiling at 60 percent to 75 percent of the total number of freshman. Read the article: /node/3294
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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) F2MTC Project – $100 Stipend for Summer Bridge program for young men.
Did you know teaching is one of the oldest and most powerful careers in the world?
Are you interested in learning about how you can transform the world and your community through teaching?
The Future Minority Male Teachers of California (F2MTC) Summer Bridge Program is a week-long program that will show students how to use hip hop, the arts, social justice and other powerful tools for teaching. Be the change you want to see! Learn from other male teachers and mentors who are making change in the world. Read the flyer: /node/3306
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7) Nursery group in London launches action plan to recruit more men to work in the early years
The nursery group, which runs 37 nurseries across London, has launched a campaign for more men in childcare and championing gender inclusiveness.
LEYF is calling for:
• widespread support and acceptance of men working in childcare across the early years sector;
• recruitment of early years male role models as ambassadors to schools, colleges and career fairs;
• the formation of a men in early years advisory group to meet twice a year to assess and monitor progress, and;
• the creation of a professional development programme integral to the sector’s overall training strategy that recognises and rewards personal contribution from employees, regardless of gender.
The nursery group hopes the plan will help spearhead a drive to combat the recruitment crisis facing the sector. Read the article: /node/3295
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8) New Jersey school event recognizes poetry, male teachers
Each year, South Main Street Elementary School gathers its students for a special assembly celebrating both poetry and the male members of its teaching staff.
With special introductions for each teacher that highlight the teachers’ accomplishments and delve into their personalities outside of school, the men took turns at the mic reading poems they’d selected, focusing not only on themes of empowerment and self-determination but also fun and a smidge of whimsy.
“When the teachers choose their poems, they have creative control over which ones they pick. We have some teachers that always choose inspirational poems, but it’s always up to them,” technology teacher and men’s poetry assembly organizer Erika Smalls said. “I think (the teachers) look forward to it. They get excited.”
One by one, the male teachers took to the podium to cheers from the students. Some poems were serious. Some long. Some light and short. Shel Silverstein and Walter D. Wintle were some of the poets introduced to students. Read the story: /node/3297
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9) Awards at Massachusetts AEYC and MenTeach – New England Event
MenTeach – New England held a series of activities surrounding the Massachusetts AEYC annual conference which included the visit of Rodney West of San Diego, national Co-facilitator of the NAEYC Men’s Interest Forum, a table for the conference, a Reception with the MAAAEYC board in which annual awards were given, dinner for MenTeach meetings, a visit with NAEYC President-elect Amy O’Leary and visits to two child development centers in Massachusetts. It was a busy five days.
We brought Rodney West to New England to help bring more men, especially Men of Color into involvement in our group and increase our presence and the issue of men in the early childhood community. At the Massachusetts AEYC conference we set up a MenTeach table and met many educators increased in our work and its importance. Read the report: /node/3300
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10) Editorial – The Power of the Profession
The frequent reports of gun shootings in communities and especially in schools, leave us in disbelief. The media’s portrayal of the scenes impacts our perceptions and attitudes about teaching. As a professor of early childhood education, this horrific news makes it challenging to teach an Introduction to Early Childhood course that is intended to welcome and convince students about the joys that come with teaching.
Despite the negativity around the teaching profession, I believe there is one appealing aspect of teaching that continues to support teachers. The camaraderie that teachers create among themselves sustains teachers even amid times of doubt. Throughout my years in education, I have felt affirmed and supported when surrounded by colleagues who share similar interests and views about children. There is certainly something to say about the power of the profession! We continually witness the power and strength of teachers who put their lives on the line for their students. Viewing the most recent news regarding teacher strikes, we are asked to stand behind teachers who are fighting for a better education system that includes adequate wages and supplies for students. As we continue to build camaraderie with our colleagues near and far, we see that there is strength in numbers. Read the editorial: /node/3310
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