MenTeach E-News
January 2019
1) For the first time in history the percentage of men in child care increases to highest level
2) Study: Male Teachers Are More Likely to Leave a School With a Female Principal
3) Study reports how race matters in the classroom
4) More diversity called for in New Zealand’s classrooms – but it’s not everything
5) Scholarships for Minority Males in California
6) MenTeach January Meeting: Men in Early Childhood Education in Boston
7) England: Why it’s hard being a male primary teacher
8) Editorial: I am a man and I want to work with children
9) Letter: Thank you for the 2018 NAEYC Award
10) Editorial: Men Students Experiencing the NAEYC 2018 Conference in Washington DC
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1) For the first time in history the percentage of men in child care increases to highest level
MenTeach has announced for the first time in United States history, the percentage of men working in child care has increased to 6.3%. Since the 1970s the percentages have ranged from 2.1% to 5.9% but has only been above the 6% threshold once in 1975 at 6.2% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Education and care of young children has been predominantly the work of women keeping the percentage of males in the field stagnant.
According to Bryan G. Nelson, Director of MenTeach, “This increase is a significant change in our profession and perhaps society.” He goes on to add, “There seems to be a shift that more men want to work with young children and that we may be seeing a change in attitudes. And this means that parents are more likely to see a man caring for their baby or young child now.” Read & download the Press Release: /node/3427
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2) Study: Male Teachers Are More Likely to Leave a School With a Female Principal
Researchers at the University of Virginia and Northwestern University have found another wrinkle to add to the problem of teacher retention: Male teachers are leaving schools with female principals.
The researchers analyzed New York state teacher retention data over a 40-year period, from the 1969-79 school year through 2009-10. In total, the data set included about 650,000 teachers and about 6,400 schools.
They found that male teachers were 12 percent more likely to leave their school if the principal was a woman than if the principal was a man. By contrast, women were equally as likely to leave under a female or male principal. The researchers estimated that most of these exits were voluntary, rather than the result of firing, due to the low rate of teacher dismissal nationwide.
The results did show some differences in male teacher retention over time and place. Compared to areas with lower than average female workforce participation, male teachers in places where more women worked were less likely to leave a school with a female principal. And men in the 1970s and ’80s were more likely to leave a woman-led school than men in the ’90s and early 2000s. Read the article: /node/3416
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3) Study reports how race matters in the classroom
Race matters in the classroom, with black students who are exposed to a black teacher doing better in school, a new research report says.
The paper, titled “The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers,” found “causal evidence” that black students who were randomly assigned to a black teacher were more likely to graduate and to enroll in college: black students assigned to a black teacher in kindergarten through third grade were 5 percentage points more likely to earn a diploma and 4 percentage points more likely to enroll in college than similar students who were not assigned to a black teacher.
The paper was published this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research, with authors from four universities: American University, the University of California at Davis, the University of Connecticut and Johns Hopkins University, and the Urban Institute. They harnessed student data from a well-known research effort in Tennessee known as the STAR class-size experiment. Read the article: /node/3417
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4) More diversity called for in New Zealand’s classrooms – but it’s not everything
Sean Dillon is a Pākeha male – but he’s in the minority.
He is a school teacher – a field where three-quarters of the population are female.
New Zealand has 55,020 registered teachers, as at April 2017 – 40,819 of these are women. That is almost three times the 14,201 male teachers educating our children.
Dillon, who works at Welbourn School in New Plymouth, says teaching doesn’t have the aura of some other male-dominated fields.
“The perception of the job is not like a high-flying career…It doesn’t have the aura of a big bank or investor. It depends what you’re after in a career. Pay would help, and public perception.
“It needs to be a more attractive profession in general.
“In New Zealand there’s the workload requirements that can sometimes get a little bit out of balance.
“For me, my fears in the future are providing for my family and things like that.” Read the article: /node/3419
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5) 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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6) MenTeach January Meeting: Men in Early Childhood Education in Boston
Men in Early Childhood Education play a unique and crucial role in educating and caring for young children.
Join us for the 1st meeting of our NEW:
Men in Early Childhood Professional Learning Community
Tuesday January 8, 2019 (Snow date Wed. January 9, 2019)
6:30-9:00 PM
Grove Hall Child Development Center
1295 Blue Hill Avenue
Mattapan, MA 02126
Parking available
Agenda:
6:30-7:00 – Meet and Greet with Pizza dinner
7:00-9:00 – Panel and discussion: The Challenges and Rewards facing men in ECE
Registration required for our planning.
Register for meeting: /node/3440
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7) England: Why it’s hard being a male primary teacher
Men in primary schools put up with unfair comments about their health, appearance and career progress, says this teacher.
Being a male primary teacher can sometimes be lonely. Around one in 10 primary teachers are male and at times you can find yourself as the only man in the staff room, perhaps even the first male teacher in that school, ever. That being the case, I’m pleased to say that most of the time gender is not ultimately a factor and you don’t think about it – you just crack on, doing your job the best you can.
There have been, however, the odd occasions when either myself or other men I know have experienced what I suppose could be described as sexism, or at the very least inappropriate behaviour or comments. Before I begin, please believe me when I say that I’m not having a sense-of-humour bypass or being easily offended – I’m just reflecting on almost 10 years at the chalkface. Read the article: /node/3434
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8) Editorial: I am a man and I want to work with children
As I enter my final semester of the Elementary Education MAT program at NC State University, I have found myself reflecting upon my experience and seeking to understand my journey as a man entering the field of EE. I think back to the beginning – to when I was first deciding if teaching was right for me – to when I read this article that ultimately pushed me to go for it. Read the editorial: /node/3426
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9) Letter: Thank you for the 2018 NAEYC Award
To the members of the NAEYC Men in Education Network (M.E.N.):
I’d like to send out a heartfelt Thank You to all of you for honoring me on Nov. 16 with this year’s Champion for Men and Children Award.
It is a profound honor and privilege to know many of you and to have worked with you over the years.
It is especially gratifying that it came from a group of people that I admire so much for all of the hard work that you do in the early childhood education field. Read Dr. Valora Washington’s letter: /node/3433
10) Editorial: Men Students Experiencing the NAEYC 2018 Conference in Washington DC
Last month I had the privilege of presenting at the NAEYC conference in Washington D. C. What was even more of an honor and thrill was that I took two of our male students, Dylan and Andrew, to the conference. Together we presented our research about the dispositions men use to engage children in learning.
This was Dylan and Andrew’s first experience at a conference for early childhood educators. I had hoped that the magnitude of a national conference would provide them with information and knowledge to support their journey in becoming exceptional early childhood teachers. Perhaps I was more excited to view the conference through their eyes than they were prepared to experience this conference because I was anticipating the learning that would occur in their conversations with other male early childhood professionals. Read the editorial: /node/3429
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